Okaloosa County officials on Tuesday issued a stop-work order for Florida Power & Light’s planned Kayak Solar Energy Center project after discovering recent heavy rains had washed large amounts of sediment from the project site into adjacent waterways.

Crestview’s nearly $5.7 million Main Street renovation project is “going to be a great improvement, not just aesthetically, but safety-wise, too,” Mayor J.B. Whitten said at the project’s groundbreaking ceremony.

The nearly $5.7 million Main Street renovation project that begins on Monday is anticipated to be completed in late May of 2025, Crestview City Manager Tim Bolduc told more than two dozen downtown business owners on Thursday evening.

Construction of a multi-million expansion of the North Okaloosa Medical Center’s emergency room is expected to get underway soon.

Josy Aguilar, owner of Josy’s Tienda Latina, is continuing a cherished tradition that began centuries ago.
Her grocery store, which is just east of Crestview’s city limits and north of U.S. Highway 90, sells colorful, various-sized pinatas handmade by her and her staff.

The renovation of Crestview’s old post office on Main Street could be finished by the end of June, according to city Project Manager Jayce Vanderford.

The revitalized and city-owned, 1,700-square-foot building will then provide office space for the Crestview Redevelopment Agency and the Main Street Crestview Association.

Laurel Hill resident Pacita Alexander was one of more than 100 customers who kept a close eye on the front door of the new Aldi discount grocery store on the morning of May 18.
There were just 15 minutes to go before Aldi’s grand opening at 2680 S. Ferdon Blvd., on an outparcel of the Crestview Commons shopping center.

Featuring pizza pies with names such as All Olives Matter, Cheesesteak Rivalry, and Rueben Me The Wrong Way, Helen Back Pizza is settling into its new home in Crestview.
The restaurant opened on April 19 with dine-in, takeout and delivery service at 1296 N. Ferdon Blvd., in a renovated building that formerly housed David’s Catfish House. The new Helen Back seats a little more than 150 customers in its approximately 4,500-square-foot space, the restaurant’s operating manager, Chris Sehman, said on May 11.

Neighbors who live near the site of a new proposed solar energy center recently got their first good look at the possible project.

A new Florida Power & Light solar energy center which would be located a few miles west of Crestview and just south of Interstate 10 is in the early permitting stages. FPL representatives invited the nearby neighbors to an open house on April 6 to discuss the project.

Businesses at the long-awaited Crestview Commons development could begin opening as early as late April, according to the City of Crestview.
“We are hoping for late April/early May (openings for the first business openings),” said Chance Leavins, public information manager for the City of Crestview.