JAY FELSBERG
Managing Editor

Growth in Washington County is expected to come from the south. As the new Bay County International Airport project gets underway, and more Floridians leave crowded south and central Florida, the Panhandle and Washington County could experience a considerable population growth. Nowhere is that more evident that Sunny Hills in south Washington County. Officials involved in the development of Sunny Hills were on hand Thursday at the monthly breakfast of the Washington County Chamber of Commerce to provide an update growth in that area.

Deltonas informational DVD was also shown. The DVD is being used to market Sunny Hills nationwide.
James Town of Business Evaluation & Appraisal is an expert in evaluating where and why residential growth occurs. He said that the World War II and Korean War generation settled in south Florida, and that growth is now moving north along the Gulf coast.

"The baby boomers turn 60 in 2007," Town said. "We are seeing the beginning of that migration in the Panhandle. Its coming." Town noted another factor which will affect Washington County: "Panama City and Panama City Beach are also filling up. People are moving to Sunny Hills to get away from that urban congestion. "Our growth is primarily coming from the south." Town predicted that much of the growth in Washington County will settle in a "pear-shaped" pattern over the next five years. "Hwy. 77 will be the stem," he said. "Wausau will be the neck, and the body will extend into Bay County." Town said that growth, especially related to the new international airport on West Bay, will be in the Hwy. 20 - Hwy. 79 - Hwy. 77 - Gulf coast area. "This is the primary target," he said.

Growth will come in stages, with the area just south of Hwy. 20. Much of the economic growth in the body of the "pear" will be residential growth. "Sunny Hills is ideally shaped to be the bedroom community of the pear," Town said.
Jane Huth of Florida Land Values, LLC, agreed. During a tour of Sunny Hills Thursday afternoon Huth was zipping about in her van taking buyers around and showing properties. She said she also likes the possibilities of Sunny Hills.
"We are ideally placed in the Panhandle," she said. "We have everything except mountain climbing and snow skiing.
"We are two years ahead of where we expected to be. This is where growth is happening in this state."
As part of the marketing, Deltona is building 10 spec homes and plans 20 more. One company has worked over 500 home sites since January, and lots have gone from about $30,000 on July 1 to nearly $40,000 by last week.
"We are extremely excited about the growth, and it will not only help business and real estate, but the entire community as well," Huth said.

Sunny Hills started in the 1970s with what Town described as "much hoopla," but for various reasons development was largely moribund until recent years. That is rapidly changing, "and it is not misleading to say that Sunny Hills is a hot spot." Sunny Hills is 28-square miles of land, equaling 4.8 percent of Washington County. The area is about 18,000 acres, and includes more that 40 miles of paved roads. Glen Zanetic of the Municipal Services Benefits Unit (MSBU), which coordinates government programs for the development and adds money to grants to improve services, said that the community is developing well, and developers are doing their best to put in infrastructure ahead of new houses, or "rooftops," as they are known.

"It will be a lot to stay ahead of," Zanetic said. "There are major builders in there now." Roads and utilities are being installed steadily throughout Sunny Hills, as a tour on Thursday afternoon showed. There are already small ethnic communities in the area, and Zanetic said that other communities will evolve as growth continues.
Zanetic said that it was difficult to get government, the community and developers on the same page all the time, Sunny Hills benefits to Washington County are already noticeable, however, and further growth will only help the county more. "If we have 200 new rooftops, that about $400,000 in taxes alone," Zanetic said. About 2,000 acres are set aside for recreation, and during the Thursday tour a number of people were enjoying fishing and the beaches at one of the lakes. Zanetic said that availability of recreation is a big drawing point for those looking at property.

The Sunny Hills Volunteer Fire Department regularly improves its equipment and training, but their load is increasing rapidly. Zanetic is also fire chief. The department no longer serves a sleepy community.
"The fire department used to get 20 calls a year, and now we average 20 calls a month," Zanetic said. If development continues as planned, three more fire halls will have to be added to cover the area. "We plan for 70,000 residents, and we will get them," Zanetic said.