2008 HOLLY FAIR RAISES $197,000: 2009 Looking Good Too

The Junior Service League of Panama City has announced that the 20th Annual Holly Fair event held from November 6th through 9th, 2008 at Boardwalk Beach Resort & Conference Center has raised $197,000 for local service projects.

Funds raised from Holly Fair, which this past season boasted over 75 merchants from around the United States, are used to support local programs and many Bay County organizations.

“Each year, the Bay County community and every Junior Service League member is committed to making our annual Holly Fair an exceptional event and this year, with economic conditions as they are, it was wonderful to be able to exceed our goal from last year,” said Event Co-Chair Lacey Obos.

The Junior Service League depends on the success of Holly Fair to support its mission of promoting volunteerism and improving the community. Through Holly Fair funds, the Junior Service League has become the primary source of clothing for deserving children in Bay District Schools providing over 2000 children in 2008 alone with new outfits for both school and play. In addition to supporting educational and charitable programs including elderly outreach, the Junior Service League also contributes to other local agencies. Past recipients have included the Children’s Home Society, Life Management Center & St. Andrew’s Bay Center.

“On behalf of the over 90 volunteers who make up the Junior Service League, I am grateful to each sponsor, each merchant, each business & media partner and the over 12,000 people who embraced and supported the 20th Annual Holly Fair,” added Tracy Rudder, Event Co-Chair.

The 2009 Holly Fair is scheduled for November 5th through 8th at Boardwalk Beach Resort. For more information, contact (850)785-7870 or visit http://www.jslpanamacity.org.

Edgewater Beach & Golf Resort Celebrates Labor Day in Style

Edgewater Beach & Golf Resort, a property of The Resort Collection of Panama City Beach, announced plans for an exciting Labor Day celebration. The food and beverage specialists at the resort will be preparing a cookout that embodies all the flavors of summer, with hamburgers, hot dogs and many other tasty dishes served along the deck of the beautiful Lagoon Pool. Plates will start at only $4 per person. Edgewater will be providing bounce houses, fun and games on the beach for kids to play the day away. Guests and local VIP cardholders will be able to enjoy live music and good food as they enjoy a venue that overlooks one of the world’s most beautiful beaches.

For information on Edgewater Golf & Beach Resort, call 866.874.8686 or visit www.edgewaterbeachresort.com.

Tired of Panama City Beach – Discover the Magic of 30A

Just minutes away from our pristine beaches lies a hidden gem that is as magical as Disney itself, the 30A corridor. I’ve talked to so many of you that utilize this well kept secret for family outings, stay-cations, Friday-night events or bar-hopping flossy-style and this week we’re going to tell you all about it. Well, almost all about it, maybe we’ll leave out the bar-hopping, because I don’t drink. 😉

What we are going to do is a TooCreative first, and hopefully a regular event for the staff. On Thursday at 1:30 pm, we will embark on an adventure to our neighboring tourist attraction, 30A to share snippets of what makes life so magical over there. This is an area that is known around the world as a high-end, unique and charming haven for vacationers and property owners alike.

This jaunt will be broken into 7 sections: Inlet Beach, Rosemary, Alys Beach, Seaside, Watercolor, Grayton Beach, and Blue Mountain Beach. We’ll be doing this here on pcbdaily AND on seepcb, looking at the “newsy” stuff and the “touristy” stuff, respectively. The goal is to have a guerrilla style series of articles that give you an update and tell you about the area as we find it on Thursday. As we experience, we will write and take pictures. Then, when we find a place that has internet, we’ll publish right to the sites.

This is going to be tons of fun which you can follow the adventure Thursday by visiting seepcb.com/30a

The Magic of Inlet Beach

Tucked quietly just west of Panama City Beach, not even quite to Highway 30A, Inlet Beach is well known as the quiet beach. Talking to a friend recently (keeping all confidentiality) she subtly disclosed that this was were the nudists once frequented. No naked people today.

Just a few short weeks ago we featured a what-would-seem-to-be boring little house. But it wasn’t the house that sells the area. What sells the area is the quaintness (is that a word?). The charm is all the undeveloped county-owned land that is well preserved, the raw dunes, the rough walk-overs, the unbelievable views over the towering dunes.

The real estate market has held over fairly well. Property values haven’t dipped much, although demand has waned considerably. Close to Highway 98 a series of dilapidated homes pepper the area missing the Tyvek wrapping on the first floor. The homes were started a few years back but never finished.

– Jason

Visit seepcb.com/30a for Inlet Beach SeePCB-style

57 Reasons the New South Thomas Drive will Rock

The Front Beach Road CRA in Panama City Beach is set to change the face of the beach and reset the perception of all those that visit our beautiful area. Right now, driving up and down our main travel corridors is non-to-pleasing to the eye, what with the towering out of the ground utilities and lack of proper sidewalks and landscaping. BUT, that’s all in the process of change. Change is good, right?

Yesterday evening a community workshop was held at the CRA office to show off what’s in store for the next phase of the CRA (community redevelopment area), including South Thomas Drive, a section of Front Beach Road and the intersection of Front Beach Road, Middle Beach Road and North Thomas Drive.

Tip: You can learn more about the CRA, or you can read below for more details on this portion.

I’m going to warn you, what you are about to read will be long, but super rich with multimedia. Hopefully you’ll have a great idea as to what this portion of the cra will actually involve.

This roadways covered in this portion of the CRA form a loop, if you will around Laketown Wharf and a portion of the Signal Hill Golf course. The road runs right by Boardwalk Beach Resort, then passes by Pineapple Willies, through condo canyon (Laketown Wharf/Shores of Panama), goes right carrying you right past Wal-Mart and through the intersection just a little where Walgreen’s, Ripley’s and Backyard Burger rest. Included also is a little bit of the roadway called North Thomas Drive that would lead you down to the camp ground across from Club La Vela.

Here are the 57 Reasons the New South Thomas Drive will Rock

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Front Beach, Middle Beach, North Thomas Drive Intersection

This is the intersection described above that plays home to Ripley’s Believe it or Not!
They will completely redo the whole intersection, traffic lights and all
The new intersection will have an emphasis on pedestrian friendliness
- Currently it is difficult for peds to cross because of the wide road ways
- They will redo some of the existing pedestrian islands
- Also, an additional pedestrian island will be added by Backyard Burger
- Existing ped islands will be beautified
The famous dedicated right turn lane from west-bound Front Beach Road that turns onto Middle Beach will be done away with, median curb and all
- But, that lane will still be a turn only lane, just not dedicated
- Actually, they will ad an additional right turn lane making the total number of right turn lanes from Front Beach to Middle Beach TWO
Right smack dab in the middle of the intersection will be a huge decorative paver insignia of the Panama City Beach logo surely marketing the busiest intersection on Panama City Beach. Could Wal-mart have anything to do with that? hmmm
The right turn from North Thomas Drive onto Front Beach Road (by the Ripley’s museum) will be pulled back to make it a larger radius. You may have noticed their new sign and how it has recently moved back. They were getting it out of the way!
Pedestrian walkways will be very clearly marked
My favorite: all those ugly utility lines (power, phone and the like) will be moved UNDERGROUND!
Sidewalks will be installed
Cool street lamps will be installed
Lovely landscaping that will hopefully be taken good care of.

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The Circle K Intersection of Front Beach Road

This area covers the “curve” by Laketown Wharf and the entrance of Shores of Panama.
This area is well known for its traffic during peak seasons
Many in attendance were not happy with the plans as they did not seem to address the current problems
- I talked with the owner of Pineapple Willies who was telling me that teh traffic problems there greatly effect his business every year
- Many property owners there expressed their concern that during peak seasons it was very difficult for them to come and go from their residences
- Some of the suggestions included widening the turn so that there would be two dedicated turn lanes because all of the traffic is broken up to turn right or left at the Circle K
The plans include a dedicated Tram lane for the multi-model transportation device
- Many suggested to do away with this all together, but this route of the Tram service is integral in the Tram “looping” back to return to the west end of Panama City Beach
- The goal of the Tram is to get people to park their cars and ride mass transportation systems, this could work great, if done correctly.
- I think cars would be able to travel in this Tram lane, so they could use the Tram lane to turn right, right?
Of course, all utilities will be moved underground
Sidewalks will be installed
Landscaping will be installed
There will be clearly marked crossing areas with pedestrian medians
There will be periodic cut-outs for the Tram loading and unloading stops

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South Thomas Drive, North Thomas Drive Intersection

Located right by Alvin’s Island
They actually (they, as in The City of Panama City Beach) bought a huge chunk of land between Alvin’s Island and Signal Hill Golf Course
This land will be used to build a retention pond and a cut through roadway
The retention pond will be designed to be a beautiful amenity
- Sidewalks all around with sitting areas
- Landscaped and lighted
- It looks as thought there may be a little roadside parking for those that may want to enjoy
The roadway cut through will be charged with the goal of easing traffic into North Thomas Drive
- Intersection will be “signalized”
- Right now, the turn just sort of “juts” out, giving more bias to turning right then left, and is actually quite dangerous if you’re not paying attention.
- The new intersection will have pedestrian walkways clearly marked
- There will be a little right off-shoot to cover access still to boardwalk and thee other “local” businesses.
- This will alleviate some of the traffic pressure during peak seasons and times of high traffic *cough* little wayner
Alvin’s Island will actually be a little “island”

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Huge Retention Pond in Place of Old Homeless Camp

This retention pond will actually be behind McDonalds in front of the Wal-Mart parking lot (bet you were always wondering what was behind all those shrubs at the end of the Wal-Mart parking lot, weren’t you?)
Right now there is a fence along the McDonald’s parking lot
- I was told that this lot was the former site of a homeless camp, even though it is right in the middle of the action, it was actually well secluded. That is before the city came in and ruined the fun and cleared it all out.
- I was also told that McD’s is anxious for this as when it is build, they will tear down their fence and open it up for their customers to use
This retention pond will be quite large and will feature landscaping and sidewalks all around
A “viewing” platform will be built with seating areas so that people can enjoy the view of the retention pond
Lighting, landscaping and sidewalks all around (did I say that already?)
The public will have access to the amenity from both Middle Beach and Front Beach Roads

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Below are some high-resolution renderings of the different aspects of the project.

Help the Miracle League by Riding the Carousel

On Saturday September 12th, the Miracle Strip Carousel at Pier Park will be hosting a fund-raiser for the Miracle League of the Emerald Coast. Miracle League is a baseball league for children with disabilities. 100% of the proceeds from all ticket sales between 12-4pm will be donated to the Miracle League to help defray the costs of uniforms, bats, balls and other supplies needed by the league. Single tickets are $3 per ride or $5 for an all day pass.

Join us to help a great cause.

Teddy & Jenny Meeks
Miracle Strip Carousel

History of the Miracle League of the Emerald Coast:

After realizing there are 5,000+ children in Bay County between the ages of 3 and 19 who are unable to participate in conventional baseball leagues due to physical or mental disabilities the Rotary of Panama City Beach decided to spearhead the development of a local Miracle League.

The Panama City Beach Rotary Club, a small club of 55 members and a lot of heart, approached the City of Panama City Beach for assistance. The Panama City Beach City Council seeing the need for “an adaptive recreational facility open to children of all ages and abilities where no child is turned away” unanimously voted to designate an area of Frank Brown Park for the development of a facility that would accommodate Miracle League players. The sportsplex could not have been a more perfect location as the entire infrastructure is in place.

The City agreed to assume responsibility for scheduling, maintaining and operating all programs provided the Panama City Beach Rotary Club along with the Miracle League of the Emerald Coast assumes the task of organizing the new league and generating funding for the fields construction.

Oaseas Resorts says hello the fall season by celebrating a “Sensational September”?

Hello Autumn…

Oaseas Resorts says hello to September and the fall season by celebrating a “Sensational September” with three fantastic events with great rates to match. Enjoy beaches that are less crowded but still warmed by the sun and rates that, like the crowd level, drop significantly. Pay just $99 per night at Cabana Cay during Labor Day Weekend, Sept. 4-7. Book a Gulf-front condo for as low as $99 a night during the 20th Annual Lobster Festival, Sept. 17-20. “Buy 3/Get Your 4th Night Free” during Thunder Beach, Sept. 24-27, or pay just $99 per night during this motorcycle weekend. Due to popularity, you must call 1-877-808-4323 to get these rates or visit www.oaseasresorts.com.

Fun events, fine resorts
With Oaseas Resorts “Sensational September,” visitors can enjoy on-the-beach events, including a Labor Day Weekend of fun and fireworks, with the pyrotechnics set for Sunday, Sept. 6, following a pool deck luau at Shores of Panama. They’ll have enough sparkle and boom to be seen and heard from Grandview as well. Dig in at the bib-worthy Lobster Festival with fresh local lobster served grilled, fried, steamed and chilled. And have a rumbling good rally during Thunder Beach, which features some of the best motorcycle builders, parts manufacturers and distributors, biker wear and accessories – plus plenty of entertainment.

Sink into affordable luxury at an Oaseas Resort: Cabana Cay, a resort with expansive pool deck surrounding a huge free-form pool in a tropical setting; Ocean Ritz with oversized balconies and some of the only four-bedroom four bath units on the beach; Grandview with spacious units of no less than 1490-sq. ft. all with jetted tubs in master bath; amenity laden Watercrest offers Gulf-front units and all the items needed for a great getaway; the luxurious 4 star Shores of Panama, a Gulf-front resort where the amenities—and the view—are unparalleled; Emerald Isle, whose pool pavilion with stainless steel barbecues/grills make for fun gatherings; and the Village of South Walton Beach, with its Old World charm and tucked within the upscale shopping enclave of Towne Centre.

For the military
During its month-long “Sensational September” celebration, Oaseas Resorts is also saluting the men and women of the military. Members of the military – both retired and active, along with Department of Defense Employees, will get 25 percent off rates at all Oaseas Resorts properties during this month. The gesture is in keeping with the outreach philosophy of the condominium and rental management company.

“The staff and management at Oaseas Resorts would like to express our gratitude and appreciation to those who serve, and have served, our country,” says Annie Holcombe, vice president of business development and marketing for Oaseas Resorts. “We appreciate everything our Armed Forces do for all of us to provide our freedom, and especially for making our nation – and world – a better place to live.”

Sunny, less crowded, great rates
Book a sensational stay in September with Oaseas Resorts and enjoy fantastic events and great rates during Labor Day Weekend, Sept. 4-7; the 20th Annual Lobster Festival, Sept. 17-20; and Thunder Beach, Sept. 24-27. September in Panama City Beach? Still sunny, less crowded, great rates – in a word, sensational. Contact reservations at 1-877-808-4323 or click here for more information: www.oaseasresorts.com/beach-vacation-specials.html

Episode #21 – Gulf-front 4 Bedroom Condo $324,900

This week’s features:

Deal 1 – Gulf-front 4 Bedroom Condo $324,900
Deal 2 – 2 Bed 2 Bath Fully furnished Gulf-front Condo for only $229k
Deal 3 – Cute Cottage in Carillon WITH LOT steps from the private beach

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Click the “more” tag for show notes and pictures.

Call us at 850-527-5651 to see these properties or for anything else you need regarding real estate in Panama City Beach.

Show Notes

Deal 1 – Gulf-front 4 Bedroom Condo $324,900

List Price: $324,900
Square Feet: 1,586
Price/SqFt: $204.85
4 Bedrooms, 3 Bath
Built in 2005
Majestic has one of the nicest sets of amenities on Panama City Beach with several pools, hot tubs, pool side grill, huge conference facilities and a huge movie theater. Click here to see the feature video we shot for it on SeePCB. This condo is huge and is really great shape. For a foreclosure, it’s near perfect. You just can’t get better than a gulf front condo this size at this price, you have to buy this condo now!

Deal 2 – 2 Bed 2 Bath Fully furnished Gulf-front Condo for only $229k

List Price: $229,000
Square Feet: 1,076
Price/SqFt: $212.83
2 Bedrooms, 2 Bath
Built in 2005
Not only is this a great price for a 2 bedroom gulf front condo, this condo comes fully furnished! With great amenities and a central location just minutes from Pier Park, you can’t go wrong with this. Did I mention the price???

Deal 3 – Cute Cottage in Carillon WITH LOT steps from the private beach

List Price: $449,000
Square Feet: 878
Price/SqFt: 511.39
2 Bedrooms, 2 Bath
Built in 1996
For those of you that are familiar with Carillon, you know that deals like this rarely come on the market. This is a two bedroom cottage with a full lot in front to build your dream house on. Only 5 houses from the beach, you’ll probably have some gulf views from the third floor when you build. The cottage that is there will be the mother-in-law quarters and as it stands, actually rents pretty well! Carillon has tons of great community amenities and if you are accustomed to high-end living, this community is the place for you.

Call us at 850-527-5651 to see these properties or for anything else you need regarding real estate in Panama City Beach.

CRA Kick-off Party for South Thomas Drive Construction

Charged with literally changing the face of Panama City Beach, the CRA is on the move again. The next project on the table is the reconstruction of the South Thomas Drive corridor and tonight is the kick-off party for the public to come in and see what’s going to take place over the next 2 years or so.

The CRA, or community redevelopment area has swept through the area over the last few years completely changing the Churchwell Drive and R Jackson Blvd (formerly Beckrich) corridors with not only entirely new roads, but new infrastructures. These projects included moving utilities underground and adding beautification accents such as sidewalks, landscaping and street lights – something our area has been badly in need of for years.

Churchwell Drive is the road that travels in between Middle Beach and Front Beach Road that plays home to the Beach post office. Included in the project was a new bridge that required most of the budget and time, but the result was a beautiful 4 lane road with a center turn lane, sidewalks and these cool street lamps that make you want to walk everywhere just so you can look at them.

R Jackson Blvd, formerly known as Beckrich Road underwent an entire transformation expanding it from a two lane, heavily traversed, dangerous main corridor to a lovely, wide, beautiful road that enjoys pedestrians all the time. If you haven’t driven down it lately, you should. I experience that euphoria as often as possible, and sometimes even pull over just to walk it.

I remember the ground-breaking like it was yesterday, thinking to myself, “2 year? Man, that’s a long time for a road to be under construction.” But man, did the time fly. Fully opened in April of this year, it has serviced the area well and opened up a quick way to get from Back Beach to Front Beach Road.

Take a look at the progress over the last couple years:

———————————————————So, what’s happening tonight? There will be a public event that will explain to the public just what will be happening over the next 18 to 24 months in the South Thomas Drive area. The South Thomas Drive corridor is the area that is in between the Circle K (by Shores of Panama and Laketown Wharf) and Club La Vela. If you’ve traveled down that road, you know that it is a poor excuse for a patch of pavement, much less an actual road and is badly in need of a complete overhaul.

The new South Thomas Drive will include (I beleive) four lanes with a center turn lane, sidewalks, landscaping, those cool street lamps and all the utilities moved underground. This will be huge not only for the area but also for Panama City Beach as this is a heavily traveled area. The unfortunate part is having to endure the construction along the way; but there’s nothing we can do about that and it will be very much worth the trouble.

You can bet you can count on us to keep you all abreast of every new little detail that emerges with this in addition to construction update photos and the like. Stay tuned for an update about how tonight went.

By the way, the event is at the CRA office from 5 to 7 pm. The CRA office is located in the old St. Joe building next to the Nextel call center on R Jackson BLVD. Click here for a map.

4 Reasons Why Listing Your Home with a Realtor Works

I love my job and I think that is in part because of all the great people I get to work with. Active working Realtors are some of the hardest working most energetic people I have ever met. They love to share their knowledge of Real Estate with their customers and thankfully with each other. I enjoy working with my other Realtor buddies and so respect what they do so I wanted you to know what your Realtor can do for you.

Many people try to sell their homes themselves and that is certainly an option that all of us have, however when doing so you miss a valuable selling tool. According to the National Association of Realtors more than half of all home sales involve a listing agent and a buyers agent. The majority of those sales are made possible because of the all powerful MLS system that is blasted out to countless Realtors and people and reaches many web sites and locations across the United States. To add to that, many Realtors are a part of advertising campaigns through magazines and sites such and Homes and Land further putting your listing in front of even more people. Statistics show that nine out of 10 people use a real estate agent in their search for a home and adding to that, internet has risen as a mega tool from only 2% of buyers in 1995 to 79% in 2006 so you can imagine what the stats say now.

The MLS system is great but would be lacking without all the buzz that Realtors create when we are out and about sharing with each other. Realtors are really my best customers. One of my favorite sales happened when I was NOT WORKING. I went to Carrabbas and saw one of my favorite Realtors (you know who you are) waiting tables and I just happened to mention that I had a great listing with exceptional rental dollars generated. Ward had just the right buyer in mind!!! Needless to say that was an unexpected treat but that happens all the time. Listing with a Realtor is like the gift that keeps on giving. When you employ a Realtor to market your property you can get a lot of bang for your buck.

One of the most pertinent tangible things that your Realtor will do when listing your home is to give you up-to-date information on what is happening in your market and the price, financing and condition of competing homes. You need this information so you can sell your house at the best price and as quickly as possible. Your Realtor has vast knowledge of market values in your community and that is vital today in selling your home. Remember it does not matter what something is listed for what matters is what it is selling for.

Advertising your property is more than throwing a sign up and your Realtor will know how and where to advertise your property. There a is a misconception that you just have to advertise and that sells the Real Estate. The National Association of Realtors indicate that 82% of real estate sales are the result of agent contacts through previous clients, referrals, friends, family and personal contacts.

Your Realtor has spent years of training and learning how to market and sell what may be your biggest investment ever. There is so much more to Real Estate than making a sale; there are procedures for closing the deal that your Realtor will know how to guide you through. Zig Ziglar always said you have to close the deal to be a salesman, so with that in mind call your favorite Realtor and close that deal. Thanks to all my sweet Realtor friends out there for all your knowledge and guidance. . . you really are some of the best customers ever. And again, you know who you are!