In 2017, The Jay Odom Group partnered in this iconic 330+ room Gulf-front resort.  Built in 1966, and branded as a Ramada until the time of Odom’s entrance into ownership of the hotel, the hotel was in substantial disrepair and in need of management services in order for this property to reach its potential.

Set on a lushly landscaped 11+ acres of gorgeous Gulf-front property, boasting over 600’ of frontage along the Emerald Coast’s beautiful white-sand beaches of the Gulf of Mexico, Odom and his team set out to bring this property back to its former glory.  They exceeded expectations in this endeavor with the tenacity, vision, and modern flair that Odom brings to all his projects.

Odom and his team directed and performed a major $20MM renovation while remaining open for business, to include a complete overhaul of every aspect of the hotel, from obtaining the financing to design, construction, procurement, new equipment and systems purchasing and installation, rebranding, and hiring and supplementation of professional management. Odom also renamed the resort to The Island Hotel & Resort. 

After the renovations were completed, reservations and revenue were at an all-time high, and the hotel was sold in 2021 to a national reputable hospitality industry leader.

Hammock Bay welcomed an exciting new addition in 2019-2020, 232 luxury apartment residences.   This upscale apartment community exhibits the best-of-the-best amenities, with access to all Hammock Bay Amenities.  The Apartment clubhouse is like no other, featuring a resort-style zero-entry pool, poolside cabana, demonstration kitchen, game room, state-of-the-art fitness, and more.  A mail center with state-of-the-art refrigerated lockers for grocery delivery.  Apartment residents love the green spaces, dog care amenities, EV charging station, amply sized garages, and the peace and quiet of Hammock Bay. Geared toward entertainment, convenience, top-of-the-line amenities, and the beautiful setting of Hammock Bay, the apartments leased faster than all projected proforma.  The Jay Odom Group sold the entire apartment complex and the adjacent land for a 168-unit phase 2 in 2021.

The Jay Odom Group built Destin Jet and operated its 5,500 square-foot facility, which also included 10 hangars totaling 40,000 square feet, from 2009 until 2016.  Destin Jet was ranked among the world’s top 10 FBOs within 3 years of its opening in 2009. Six years later, it ranked #3 FBO in the Americas, and #1 FBO in small markets. By purchasing its competition in 2014, The Jay Odom Group added another 5,500 square-foot FBO and a 12,000 square-foot maintenance hangar to Destin Jet. The Jay Odom Group’s success in the Aviation Industry was achieved because the Destin Jet business model was based on operating as a hospitality business, rather than an aircraft business.

The Jay Odom Group purchased, in 2017, this 54-site RV park property located on Okaloosa Island with 400’ of highway frontage and 400’ of waterfront in the rear of the property with a dock for RV guests’ use on beautiful Choctawhatchee Bay.  In typical Jay Odom Group-style, the park was refurbished to provide maximum aesthetic and operational appeal for its RV guests.  Prior to our purchase of this property, the reservation system was by phone call only.  We completely rebuilt the park’s website to allow reservations via the website, and we significantly boosted the multi-media marketing of this property, substantially increasing its online presence with cross-channel marketing.  This, along with the property upgrades, which included extending the dock, adding a fire pit, all new outdoor furniture and umbrellas, revamping the check-in facilities and guest store, replacement of the aging laundry facilities, upgrading of all systems and lushly landscaping the entire park, allowed this RV Resort to operate at its maximum potential.  The Jay Odom Group sold this RV Resort in 2020.

The Jay Odom Group recently acquired this spectacular property at Highland Parks in Blue Mountain Beach on 30A along the Beaches of South Walton County to fill the need for office space along the 30A corridor, which is in very limited supply.  The Jay Odom Group completed the permitting and construction on this beautiful 2-story, 12,000 square-foot office building which offers Class A office space to include a magnificent, furnished roof terrace for gorgeous, unobstructed views of Draper Lake and the Gulf of Mexico.  The Draper J office building offers suites and offices for lease and is reaching full occupancy.  For leasing information, contact The Jay Odom Group Leasing and Property Manager, Emily Gregory, at 850-654-4126, Ext. 104.

The Jay Odom Group purchased this 7.35-acre site along the 30A corridor of the Beaches of South Walton County in popular Grayton Beach and worked extensively with Walton County and the local community to secure all the required entitlements to develop a 153-unit hotel on the property.   The Jay Odom Group developed full architectural and construction plans for The Grayton Grand Hotel and Resort for maximum use of this site as a second-to-none luxury resort.  The plans were developed for 75 hotel units and 78 condominiums with world-class amenities.  This property was to be built and operated as a hotel resort with the option of condominium sales in this exclusive, high-demand community.  As The Jay Odom Group was moving to secure financing (with high interest from several national hotel brands), Walton County approached The Jay Odom Group and made an offer to purchase this site at market rate (based on the existing entitlements and plans developed) so they could secure land in this increasingly populated area of the County.  The Jay Odom Group accepted the County’s offer and sold the property to Walton County in September of 2016.

A local favorite under multiple past ownerships, this bayfront property in Niceville, Florida was purchased by The Jay Odom Group in 2015.  The restaurant and marina located on Niceville’s famous Boggy Bayou were in need of visionary renovation and business savvy – needs tailored to Odom’s abilities.

Odom and his team transformed this property into a beautiful, inviting eatery with a successful dock slip rental business, regaining the title as a local favorite.  With The Jay Odom Group’s determination, experience, and good old-fashioned elbow grease, this restaurant and dock were raised to Odom’s standards for first-class development, and in 2021, the property was a very attractive acquisition and sold to a restaurant investor.

This 254,520 square-foot development in Fort Walton Beach consisted of a complete overhaul of an old and nearly vacant shopping center. The Jay Odom Group secured major chains to include Winn-Dixie, Ross Dress for Less, West Marine, Pet Supermarket and Buffalo Wild Wings as anchor tenants. Freestanding, national chains Starbucks, Zaxby’s and Baskin Robbins were secured as build-to-suit, outparcel tenants. In addition to the revitalization of this deteriorating shopping center, The Jay Odom Group revitalized this entire area of Fort Walton Beach, to include the installation of brick paver sidewalks, decorative street lighting and lush landscaping, successfully rebranding this area of Fort Walton Beach as the “Uptown District”.  The Jay Odom Group topped off this development with the installation of the State’s tallest flagpole (170 feet) to honor our military and uniformed service members.

This 18,271 square-foot addition to the Uptown Station Shopping Center in Fort Walton Beach, Florida expanded the Uptown Shopping District to include new shops and restaurants, such as national chain, Five Guys Burgers and Fries, providing sought-after space in this thriving shopping district created by The Jay Odom Group.

This 11,152 square-foot, retail strip center was constructed by the Jay Odom Group on land we purchased in the Uptown Shopping District of Fort Walton Beach.  This center also created sought-after retail space which was leased quickly and anchored by Lenny’s Subs, a national franchise.

Touted as having one of the best burgers in the United States, The Jay Odom Group was proud to procure a long-term lease with this well-known, national franchise.  Five Guys’ long-term lease provided for The Jay Odom Group to build-to-suit Five Guys’ 2,715 square foot space in the in-line retail center in the Uptown District of Fort Walton Beach, Florida developed by The Jay Odom Group.  This popular restaurant remains successful in this location today.

One of Odom’s first hospitality-geared projects, he embarked on this project early on in his development career in the 1990’s while enjoying much success bringing single-family developments to the coastal resort Crystal Beach Gulf side area of Destin, FL.  Partnering with his close friends and long-time associates at Abbott Realty, the Destin-area’s pioneering short-term rental management company, Odom acquired the site, financed, designed, planned, and constructed these 20 charming Nantucket Cottages (2 rental units per cottage), and worked closely with Abbott Realty on his first endeavor to market and manage a successful resort rental property.  This was, indeed, a great success for Odom, and this project heightened his desire to continue in hospitality developments.

This well-known national chain was sought out by The Jay Odom Group for a standalone outparcel of its Uptown Station Shopping Center in the Uptown District of Fort Walton Beach, Florida.  A lease was procured and The Jay Odom Group constructed the building from the ground up.  Starbucks added mass appeal and synergy to the Uptown District and is well received by the community.

The Jay Odom Group procured Buffalo Wild Wings as one of its first new tenants for the revitalized Uptown Station shopping center and provided a vanilla box finish as part of a long-term lease deal with BWW.  The self-proclaimed “wing capital of the world” provides a sports bar atmosphere and remains as a strong anchor tenant of the Uptown Station shopping center.

A casual Japanese restaurant serving sushi, teriyaki and hibachi, Juno’s was purchased and leased by The Jay Odom Group in the Uptown District of Fort Walton Beach.  A local’s favorite, open for lunch and dinner, Juno’s is perfect for group functions, catering events, take-out or casual dining.

This favorite ice cream store was leased as an outparcel at Uptown Station by The Jay Odom Group and provides a perfect compliment of sweet treats for the patrons of Uptown Station and its Central Park feature, a children’s playground and splash pad, developed at Uptown Station by The Jay Odom Group.

With more than 900 locations across the country, Firehouse Subs selects their new locations very carefully.  The newly constructed 18,000 square-foot retail center in Uptown Station was a perfect fit.  The Jay Odom Group secured a lease deal with Firehouse Subs and built out and delivered an 1,800 square-foot space turnkey ready for their needs.

In conjunction with its redevelopment of the White Sands Shopping Center (aka Longhorn Plaza) in Fort Walton Beach, Florida, The Jay Odom Group procured a long-term ground lease with national chain, LongHorn’s Steakhouse.  This was the catalyst for the rebranding of the center, which was renamed LongHorn Plaza.  LongHorns secured this lease with The Jay Odom Group and built their 5,761 square-foot Fort Walton Beach location in this plaza.  LongHorn Plaza is also home to a 134,177 square-foot mixed use office building (converted from an old Wal Mart) as well as a 21,900 square foot retail center.

The Jay Odom Group offered a premier team of general contractors and business managers to acquire a long-term, build-to-suit lease for national tenant, Zaxby’s.  The 2,664 square-foot Zaxby’s building was built-to-suit by The Jay Odom Group in the popular Uptown District of Fort Walton Beach.  Zaxby’s continues to enjoy success in this location providing terrific chicken with a fun, upbeat, relaxing atmosphere.

This 74,988 square-foot waterfront professional office park in Fort Walton Beach was acquired, remodeled, expanded and leased by The Jay Odom Group.  The expansion consisted of the permitting and construction of two additional office buildings, totaling 19,515 square feet, directly on Santa Rosa Sound.

The Jay Odom Group acquired and converted this 134,177 square-foot plaza in Fort Walton Beach, across the street from Fort Walton Beach’s Commerce and Technology Park, from an old vacant Walmart (106,516 sf), for Wyndham Hotel & Resorts Headquarters (Call Center and Commercial Laundry) and the Liza Jackson Preparatory School (Charter School).  These tenants were moved in and leasing within 93 days.

This project included a ground lease that The Jay Odom Group secured with Longhorn’s Restaurant for an out parcel on this property, which resulted in the addition of a 5,761 square-foot Fort Walton Beach location for this national chain and provided the influence for the center’s name, ‘Longhorn Plaza’.

The Jay Odom Group also overhauled the 21,900 square-foot retail strip center portion of this property once known as “White Sands Center”, now the “Retail Center at Longhorn Plaza”. The Jay Odom Group secured a wide array of national and local tenants for this plaza.

The success of these projects prompted offers from third-party investors, and these properties were subsequently sold by The Jay Odom Group.

This 22,368 square-foot property located in the Uptown District of Fort Walton Beach was purchased by The Jay Odom Group and remodeled for County offices.  It is now home to national tenant, Dollar General.

The Jay Odom Group purchased and is now leasing this 12,000+ square-foot warehouse in the Uptown District of Fort Walton Beach.

The Jay Odom Group acquired, permitted, constructed and leased this upscale, 19,591 square-foot retail center located on Hwy 98 at the entrance to the Destiny neighborhoods in popular Destin, Florida. A lifestyle shopping center, this retail establishment provides quaint architecture, lush landscaping, and unique stores and eateries, making this a sought-after shopping experience and business location.

The Jay Odom Group purchased, remodeled and expanded this 4,150 square foot iconic restaurant/retail building in the historic Grayton Beach community along 30A and the Beaches of South Walton County.

The Jay Odom Group purchased and leased this 4,750 square-foot waterfront commercial building located at the foot of the Destin Bridge on Choctawhatchee Bay at the entrance to the beautiful Destin Harbor.

The Jay Odom Group purchased the site in Grayton Beach, and designed and permitted this 20,000 square-foot multi-tenant space. This commercial center development was sold as a package to be constructed by others, and it is enjoying great success today along the popular 30A corridor of the Beaches of South Walton County in Grayton Beach.