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Meet the Board of the TOPS’L Master Association.
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Learn more about the management companies for the resort properties.
Originally, the 52 acres now known as TOPS’L was part of a patent deed given 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 the sum of $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 been 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:
What is TOPS’L and who owns what?
TOPS’L consists of the following properties (listed in order from Highway 98 to the beach):
Who is TOPS’L Master Association?
Every owner of property (residential and commercial) at TOPS’L is automatically a member of this association and is represented through the Board of Directors. There are currently 543 residential members and one commercial member (Vacasa). The Association is governed by its Covenants, Conditions and Restrictions, Articles of Incorporation and Bylaws.
Each property elects a representative to the Board of Directors. The directors have a very specific responsibility to their members which requires all officers and directors to be well-informed, to make reasonable business judgments, and to follow the requirements of the law when making decisions. The Board is a policy-making body: it sets guidelines and directs procedure; it keeps its members up to date with projects and issues and receives feedback from its members.
According to the governing documents, the Board of Directors has sole voting power, which is why it is vital that the directors are in tune with issues affecting members of their association, yet are impartial enough to make decisions which are in the best interest of TOPS’L.
Representatives of the six residential associations and Vacasa on the Board of Directors are:
Keith Raines (The Summit)
Steve Harrison (Captiva)
Todd Garey (The Tides)
Art Chapman (Sierra Dunes)
Gary Brewis (Tennis Village)
Rick Bell (Beach Manor)
Jennifer Frost (Vacasa)
What does TOPS’L Master Association own?
Who pays to maintain and replace these assets and equipment?
Each member of TOPS’L Master Association contributes to the upkeep and replacement of these assets through quarterly assessments.
In fiscal year 2023, each member of a residential association (Beach Manor, Captiva, Sierra Dunes, The Summit, Tennis Village and The Tides) pays a quarterly assessment of $285; Vacasa, as a non-residential member, pays a quarterly assessment of $9,832.50 (assessment is based on a square footage formula as set forth in the governing documents).
In February of 2013, the TOPS’L Master Association Board of Directors began a review of its policy regarding the appropriate utilization of the Beach and the Beach Service. In so doing, they received input from numerous individuals including owners, guests, Dolphin Beach Service (our contract vendor) and other resort beach service vendors in Walton and Okaloosa, Counties. Each of these individuals represented diverse points of view which broadly fell into two categories: (1) those who rent set-ups from the Dolphin Beach Service, and (2) those that provide their own set-ups. Further, each of those general categories was subdivided into owners and guest. As you might expect, those willing to discuss such issues are generally passionate about their position and the Board fully appreciates that passion. As such, the Board attempted to reach a balance between such views and perspectives and in so doing has concluded that our current policy, as slightly modified and clarified, establishes a satisfactory balance between competing points of view. This decision was reached after taking into consideration both the pros and cons of our current policy as well as the policies of other Resorts in the area.
One of the more interesting outcomes of the review, however, was the various misconceptions and misunderstandings of our owner/members relative to the ownership and control of the TOPS’L Beach. In fact, some owners have mistakenly indicated that they did not have to abide by certain established beach policies because they had “deeded beach access” or that they had a “fee simple interest” in the beach by virtue of the ownership of their unit. Unfortunately, neither statement is accurate. As such, the Board felt that it would be both beneficial and timely to our owner/members to provide a more factual basis of information regarding the history of the TOPS’L Resort.
The TOPS’L Beach and Racquet Club, as it is known today, has a very deep and interesting past. The tract of land on which TOPS’L currently rests was originally part of a patent deed from President Calvin Coolidge to Rawlie and Gertrude Harrison dated October 13, 1927. After passing through several owners the subject property which includes the current Four Mile Village, TOPS’L and Sandestin was sold on May 1, 1948 to Four Mile Village, Inc., our current neighbor to the east. Subsequently, the parcel which is now Sandestin was sold by Four Mile Village and the current TOPS’L track was reportedly the commission paid on that transaction. On March 17, 1982 the TOPS’L tract was purchased by Topsail, Ltd. the original developer of the TOPS’L Beach and Racquet Club.
TOPS’L, Ltd. was owned by Eddie and David Clark from Dallas, Texas. It was their dream to create a residential-commercial-resort community along Florida’s Emerald Coast and on September 20, 1983, the Declarations of Covenants, Conditions and Restrictions for the TOPS’L Master Association were recorded in the public records of Walton County. In April of 1984, TOPS’L Ltd. conveyed to the TOPS’L Master Association four parcels within the TOPS’L Resort. Included in that conveyance was a parcel which is generally described as the “dry sand area” seaward of the Coastal Control Line and landward of the “mean high water mark” of the Gulf of Mexico or more commonly referred to as the beach. Consequently, the TOPS’L beach area is owned and governed by the TOPS’L Master Association, Inc. and utilization and safety of this area is the sole responsibility of the TOPS’L Master Association, Inc. through its Board of Directors.
The Board is providing this information in the sincere hope that it will clarify our member/owners’ rights and obligations in the beach. In addition, we are making a most humble request to our membership to honor and support policies as established with regard to the use and enjoyment of the beach area.
What does TOPS’L Master Association do?
Questions? Comments? Call Micah Priest, Association Manager, at xxx-xxx-xxxx or e-mail Micah at XXXXXXXXXX.