My "ToBeHere" Story

Justin’s first visit to Santa Rosa Beach was in 1979, staying across the street from his father’s new gulf front homesite. Completed in 1980, the “Beach House” was the genesis of enough memories to fill a library with photo albums and stories from building sandcastles, digging the deepest hole possible, flying kites, playing in Stallworth Lake instead of swimming in the Gulf, the first fish, first wave ever caught, first nine holes of golf at the Santa Rosa Beach Club (before they had 18), watching offshore lightning storms, counting stars and learning about the Big (and Little) Dipper, making friends and riding bikes to Sally's for a candy bar, very first driving lesson on the beach, riding horses along the coast, family bonfires, college trips, his grandparent's 50th wedding anniversary where a family reunion broke out to witnessing a ‘front yard’ sea turtle nest burst into life as over 100 baby turtles made their way to the serene, gentle moonlit waters of the Gulf of Mexico.

  Born and raised in Atlanta, Justin attended The Westminster Schools from kindergarten through twelfth grade, took classes at The Atlanta College of Art while in high school and again after attending Georgia Tech for Industrial Systems Engineering.  His art earned him a selection into the National Art Honors Society.  Locally, he has been a featured & juried artist in the Grayton Beach Fine Arts Festival when it took place at Eden Gardens State Park (Now called ArtsQuest Fine Arts Festival).  As a 'fun fact,' during his freshman year at GT, he was the actual mascot for the school, “Buzz,” the Yellow Jacket.  Having studied French in large part with the thought of one day attending Le Cordon Bleu, he finally did. Paris was always the goal and he formulated getting there by way of the Chicago campus. Paris remains “Sur le table,” but only as a visit one day in the future, as his professional schedule keeps him rooted here on the Emerald Coast.

During the summer of 1994, Justin began working with his father’s company, JMJ Investors, Inc., which was developing a luxury, non-rental condominium called “The Ultimate” on Holiday Isle in Destin. Starting out in Project Administration, answering phones (1994 style), assisting purchasers with their personal customizations, handling sales meetings and tasks such as filing condominium documents in Tallahassee. His role quickly escalated into Design and Development Management for future projects, working with various professions through Planning Commission, City Council and County Commission Meetings. By 1996, he was Vice President of JMJ/Princess, Inc., developing The Princess, a high-end Gulf Front Condominium on Thomas Drive in Panama City Beach and eventually becoming President of JMJ/Harbor Lights, Inc. in 2002, overseeing Harbor Lights, on Holiday Isle and other ventures for the next decade.

With more development projects on the horizon, he was involved in the planning and design of several other buildings that included over 1,000 condominium units and an extensive amount of commercial space as well as land planning for multiple waterfront communities.

The expediency of the sales effort during the pre-construction phase of a condominium drive the timeliness of success or delay of the project. By 1998, Justin had secured his Broker License and additionally took charge of the company’s Real Estate Brokerage, JMJ Realty Services, Inc. Forming his own company in 1999, eRealty, with www.ToBeHere.com, he continued to forge an endless amount of relationships in the process of creation to habitation of the buildings from day laborers to clients with an ability to purchase the entire top floor of one of their buildings.  Engineers, architects, attorneys, financial specialists, contractors, vendors, etc., every aspect you can think of being involved with, he interacted with them on a regular basis. When asked what it was that he did for the company, the response was simple, “From thought to finish.”

Since 2013, he has been involved in a similar capacity from end to end along 30A in the prestigious custom-built home market with Cole Construction & Development, Inc. Projects stretching from Driftwood Pointe to Carillon Beach, inclusive of Beachview Heights, Gulf Place, Draper Lake, Lakeside at Blue Mountain Beach, the Preserve at Grayton Beach, WaterColor, Seaside, Heritage Dunes, SandCliffs, WaterSound, Alys Beach, Rosemary Beach and others. Again, being thought to finish, his role mirrored that of the condominium projects for new subdivisions that were to be constructed with the intent to sell.  Going one step further by helping clients be their own developer and chose a homesite if they didn’t have one already, assisting in the design and permitting of their home for that lot, provided this also needed to be done, the bidding and estimation of the construction, as well as any pertinent needs during construction, all the way to their closing and beyond while managing the office, day to day activities and all the financials for Daniel Cole.

Other than a unicorn standing in the front yard of a property he is showing, there isn’t much he hasn’t seen yet.  Whether it be putting together an owner financed lot for $10,000 to closing a $22M construction loan for a condominium project.  His dad's joke about "The summer job that may last you a lifetime," now has over 25 years of traction with no signs of getting stuck.

On any given day, you might find him with Ann Marie and their four-legged family out on an adventure through the woods, enjoying play time at the beach, getting out on the Gulf or around the corner navigating the Bay . . . you want some fun, just add water.    Both have been children's ministry leaders, attending the Orange Conference in Atlanta and leading Vacation Bible School groups; she now continues to work with children as a Guardian Ad Litem with Bay County foster families. 

 Both his father, J. Michael Jones and Ann Marie are currently very active licensed agents, also available to assist you.

"Whatever you can do or Dream you can do, Begin it . . . Boldness has Genius, Power and Magic in it!" -Goethe