Canadian-headquartered Minto Communities USA says it has formed a joint venture with Margaritaville Holdings and The St. Joe Company to develop a 3,500 “active adult community” in Bay County near Panama City Beach.

The development titled Latitude Margaritaville Watersound is in the heart of St. Joe’s Bay-Walton Sector Plan entitled for 170,000 homes. St. Joe owns approximately 15 miles of frontage on the Intracoastal Waterway connecting West Bay with Choctawhatchee Bay.

The project’s first phase is anticipated to include approximately 3,500 homes with supporting sales center, community amenities and infrastructure for the 55-and-older community, Minto says. Minto’s home office is in Ottawa, Canada, with a US division.

The development is the third Latitude Margaritaville community to be developed by Minto and the first to be developed in partnership with St. Joe.

“A little over a year ago, we announced our intent to join forces with St. Joe and, during that time, we have engaged in extensive research and planning culminating in the recent finalization of the partnership structure,” Minto division president William Bullock said in the statement.

John Cohlan, chief executive officer of Margaritaville Holdings, said, “The opportunity to build a community that has the potential to exceed 100,000 homes gives us the ability to create every dimension of our lifestyle and include everyone in the experience.”