2008 membership directory - Panama City Beach Chamber of ...

Around Town
• INFRASTRUCTURE
• PUBLIC
TRANSPORTATION
• AIRPORT
• PORT
The local quality of life, paired
with improved transportation
and the business opportunities
that are available, will set the
stage in the next few years for a
major economic boom in Bay
County.
tInfrastructure
he renovation of Front Beach Road over the next few
years will give Panama City Beach a more metropolitan
feel. Walking and biking areas will be created to
enhance mobility and pedestrian safety, and new
streetscaping and tropical landscaping will reflect the
area’s organic coastal forms. Beach access and related
parking will be improved, and aesthetic elements
such as benches and streetlights will be added to
enhance the overall urban form of the community.
The St. Joe Company has applied for annexation into
the City for the Breakfast Point development, coming
online during the next 10-15 years, which will showcase
shops, restaurants, homes and apartments. The
City has begun an 18-month project to build a new
Dan Russell City Pier, and when Bay County rebuilds
the M. B. Miller Pier Panama City Beach will be the
only city on the Gulf with twin piers.
Public Transportation
In 2001 the Front Beach Road Community Redevelopment
Agency (CRA) was created to improve public
transportation. A plan was put in place to bring a new
transportation system to Front Beach Road with dedicated
tram lanes and a Multimodal Center for parking,
also serving as the “Gateway to Panama City Beach.”
This system will interface with other transportation
modes such as the Bay Town Trolley (www.baytown
trolley.org). From 6:00 am until 8:00 pm, Monday
through Friday, the Baytown Trolley provides a fun,
efficient, cost-effective way to travel. For routes and
information call (850) 769-0557. Workforce/commuter
transportation is served by Ride On at (850)
769-4854. Coordinated Para-transit is served by Bay
Area Transportation at (850) 785-0808.
New International Airport
The FAA delivered its final Record of Decision on
September 15, 2006, approving recommendation to
move the current Panama City-Bay County International
Airport to a 4,000-acre site at West Bay. Estimated
construction time for the new airport is 30 months.
This project is of major interest across the nation and
around the world. It will be the first airport built in the
United States in almost 20 years. Homeland Security
will be testing new security measures here, and tech
companies from around the world are seeing this as
somewhat of a test lab for new technology. The longer
runway will open PCB to Latin American markets
for cargo operations and attract other businesses and
industry to the area.
Port Authority
The Panama City Port Authority’s five-year Master
Plan, developed in early 2008, includes three goals by
2013: Bulkhead refurbishment, expansion of cargo
and container capacity, and further development of
the Intermodal Distribution Center. The Port’s general
and bulk cargo totaled 1.3 million tons in 2007.
TOP: A rendering of Front Beach
Road in Panama City Beach.
ABOVE: The Bay Town Trolley, photo
courtesy of West Florida Regional
Planning Council; a rendering of the
new Panama City-Bay County International
Airport.
PCBeach.org Relocation Guide & 2008 Membership Directory 25