 Perdido Key Beach, Fla.–The fresh salt air on Perdido Key Beach is buzzing with energy as one of the top water cooler conversations shifts from the effects of hurricane Ivan in September of 2004 to the rebirth of the island this spring. It seems as though April is the due date for the area to come alive with new and reconstructed businesses, public beach facilities, and public events and programs. Although construction is ongoing, the area is already welcoming numerous visitors anxious to get back to springtime fun on Perdido Key Beach.
“We are about 70 percent back online with available lodging. That has really been the biggest challenge, “ says Dave Marnell, president of the Perdido Key Beach Area Chamber of Commerce. “Even with the construction, visitors are just happy to be here, enjoying their favorite restaurants, going out with the same fishing charters they use each spring, and doing all the things they know and love about Perdido.”
One of the newest developments is Villagio, a mixed-use condominium complex with office, retail, and residential space slated to open this summer. The complex will feature a variety of shopping opportunities such as dress shops, furniture, and high-end accessories, as well as restaurants, coffee shops and other businesses including real estate and law offices, and possibly a spa. So far, the finishing touches are being completed on 55 units with hopes to expand in the near future. The style is best described as Florida coastal vernacular with stucco and Hardiplank® siding and colors that flow elegantly with the island breeze.
State and county officials are getting ready for the hustle and bustle of spring and summer visitors too as they ready public beach facilities. Two Perdido Key Beach state park areas will open this month as well as two of three Escambia County public beach access points. These locations provide public parking, restrooms, and handicap facilities for beachgoers. At the east end of the island, Johnson Beach, part of Gulf Islands National Seashore, opened this past winter with picnic tables, restrooms, and ranger-led programs. In fact, spring breakers were able to enjoy Barrier Island Walks, a ranger-led 45-minute cross-island walk traversing the island’s varied habitats such as dunes, forest, marsh and wetlands. Each walk is open for discovery as participants look for Perdido Beach mouse tracks and homes, scan live oak trees for belted kingfishers (birds) or osprey, or perhaps the salt marsh periwinkle, a small snail that lives on needlerush.
Another program presented last March was “Island Treasures, “ a ranger show-and-tell of sorts. Visitors gather ‘round a picnic table where flotsam and jetsam are laid out, ready to be inspected. Items have all been found along the shores of Perdido Key Beach and Santa Rosa Island and include everything from a mermaid purse (skate egg case) to lightning glass, to loggerhead turtle eggshells. All programs are free with an $8 vehicle entrance fee, good for a week to the national park. For more information about Gulf Islands National Seashore, call the Naval Live Oaks Visitor Center at (850) 934-2600 or check www.nps.gov/guis.
And for those who have either been to Perdido Key Beach themselves or just know someone who has visited the area, we must not forget to mention Flora-Bama® Lounge and Package, a landmark on Perdido Key Beach. The famous gathering place is partially open with the main hub of activity in the famous Bama Dome, the tent area between main building and deck areas. The top deck and bar, the Oyster bar, the deck bar and the stair bar are also open. Live music entertains visitors daily. In addition, the wacky mullet festival lives on with the 22nd Annual Mullet Toss scheduled for April 28-30. The event allows participants to heave a mullet, a local fish that has moved from the status of baitfish to delicacy in recent years, across the Florida–Alabama state line.
Flora-Bama®’s main building was demolished in April 2005 and owners continue with rebuilding plans. The new look will include raising the main building 6-8 feet, expanding by 20 feet, and a design to improve functionality with additional restrooms, billiard facilities, and expanded service areas. Fortunately, most memorabilia from the original building have been saved and will be put back in the new building to preserve the original Flora-Bama® atmosphere.
For more information about Perdido Key Beach, accommodations and activities, call the Perdido Key Beach Chamber of Commerce at (800) 328-0107 or visit www.PerdidoChamber.com.
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