Originally, the 52 acres now known as TOPS’L were part of a patent deed issued by President Calvin Coolidge on October 13, 1927, to Rawlsie V. Harrison and Gertrude Harrison. For the next 2 decades, the property was owned by several people until, on May 1, 1948, it was deeded to Four Mile Village, Inc., TOPS’L’s neighbor to the east.
The story goes that Winthrop Rockefeller, Sophie Woodson Coors, Ben Woodson of Shelby County, Tennessee, and Ed Woodson, Jr. of Dallas County, Texas, along with John Cox, a local Realtor, received the 52 acres of TOPS’L property as a commission on the sale of the Sandestin property, all of which was originally a part of Four Mile Village. Rockefeller and Woodson had plans to develop Sandestin and TOPS’L into an automobile racetrack – fortunately, that did not happen.
On March 17, 1982, Sophie Coors and the Woodsons sold the 52-acre tract to Eddie and David Clark from Dallas for $2,500,000, and the Limited Partnership of The Topsail, Ltd., was formed.
The Clark brothers, enterprising young developers from Dallas, were involved with their family in the property development and cattle business. On September 20, 1983, they formed the Declaration of Covenants, Conditions and Restrictions for TOPS’L Master Association, the foundation of their dream to create a “residential-commercial resort community” to be named “TOPS’L Beach & Racquet Club”. These same documents, with subsequent amendments, still govern how TOPS’L operates today.
The brothers decided to construct their planned resort in a way that no other developer had previously done. They spent $30 million to put in roads and infrastructure, build the sales and check-in center, the office complex building, the TOPS’L Club, and all the tennis courts, the Tennis Village units, and the Beach Manor, all in 1986. Then disaster struck…..
In 1986, a sweeping change was made in the income tax laws, which unfavorably affected real estate, cattle, and apartments – all areas in which the Clark brothers were involved. In 1986, they had to let TOPS’L go. The intervening years saw a series of ups and downs under several owners until the insurance departments of the State of Mississippi and the State of Louisiana foreclosed on the property.
In 1994, a group of prominent businessmen from Memphis, Tennessee, joined with Abbott Realty Services, Inc. to purchase the property. The group began the expensive task of continuing the dream of Eddie and David Clark.
From 1996 to 1999, The Summit, Captiva, Sierra Dunes, and The Tides were developed and constructed. The Ocean Club restaurant was sold to Carey Shahid. In 1998, the group sold the remainder of the undeveloped land to ResortQuest International of Memphis. In 2003, ResortQuest was acquired by Gaylord Entertainment, who, 3 years later, sold it to some of the original investors in ResortQuest under the umbrella of Leucadia National Corporation. In September 2010, ResortQuest was acquired by Wyndham Worldwide.
TOPS’L still operates under the guidelines of the original “development of regional impact” (DRI) based on the ideas for the best use of the property presented by the Clark brothers to the county and State of Florida in 1982.
The original DRI approved construction of 140,000 sq.ft. of commercial space, 900 dwelling or condominium units, and 400 hotel units.
However, over successive years, this density has decreased from the originally approved plan and design. When TOPS’L is complete, there will be a total of 596 dwelling units and 47,500 sq.ft. of commercial area.
In the spring of 2019, the Walton County Board of County Commissioners approved an “Essentially Built out Agreement” for TOPS’L, restating the remaining density that exists on three parcels.
In the fall of 2019, Vacasa purchased Wyndham Short Term Rentals of North America for $162,000,000.00, ending the ResortQuest era in Northwest Florida.
In October of 2022, the TOPS’L Master Association changed management companies away from Vacasa, and for the first time in the history of the resort, the Master Association is no longer managed by the on-site commercial owner at TOPS’L. The Association is now managed by Virtuous Management Group.
Parcels of land still to be developed at TOPS’L are: