The Henderson Resort in Destin, Fla. may look like a typical resort, but it’s more like an anchor to an ambitious residential master plan.

Sure, it contains 170 guest rooms and 10,000 square feet of conference space. And yes, across the street, on the oceanfront is the renovated, adults-only Henderson Park Inn.

But it’s the planned residences that are breathing a different kind of life into this campus. “Three years ago we opened up the new hotel,” says Shannon Howell, project director there. “It’s surrounded with other types of vacation components.”

Already a series of one and two room condos have popped up around its pool. They’re called the Henderson Lofts, and they range from 800 to 1,200 square feet in space.

Site work’s now underway for a new set of residences called Parkside. They’ll be from 1,000 square feet up to 1,500 – in a combination of one, two and three bedrooms. “They’ll go vertical in early December, and be done in March, 2021,” he says.

Just to gild the lily, though, a series of 18 beach cottages on the north end of the Henderson property, will begin construction next year and finish up about the same time as Parkside.

“They’ll be in the Craftsman style like you see at Crystal Beach, with a clubhouse and a pool, bar and grill,” he says. “They’re going to start at three bedrooms and go up to five, and be 1,800 to 4,000 square feet.”

Most of it design was done in-house, with the help of a couple of consulting architects. “But the building vernacular came from Cooper Carry out of Atlanta, he says. “They’re multifaceted architects and set the contours.”

But it was developer Bill Hagerman who assembled the property 13 years ago at the height of the real estate bubble. Then came the crash – followed by some serious perseverance.

Now his vision is taking coming to fruition – on one of the most popular beaches in Florida.

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