Year: 2009

New Krystal to Open Soon

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Laboring in the sweltering hot sun in heavy, humid air, workers chop, grind and cut away at bits and peices of steel forming the walls and structure of what will surely house many memories of family time eating bite-sized burgers.  Krystal on Panama City Beach, right across from its old location and Wal-Mart is set to open by July 4th, this summer.

The 2,400 square foot restaurant will have a drive through and dining area and will be right next to an Arby’s, although construction has not begun yet for the roast beef sandwich maker.

Ahh, fond memories of those simple tiny tasty burgers at 4 am still float in my mind from years and years ago.  Krystal, they were always there when you needed them most.

Publix All Set to Open, Beckrich, er R Jackson Looking Good

The new Publix is all set to go and scheduled to open on May 20 in Panama City Beach.  Replacing the current location at the intersection of Middle Beach Road (Hutchison Blvd) and R Jackson Blvd (formerly Beckrich), the new Publix will be around 5,000 square feet larger ringing in at around 54,000 square feet.

I got a sneak peak inside yesterday and all the shelving is up and much of the store is stocked and ready to go.  “The shelved merchandise from the old store will go to other stores, it won’t come here,” said Tom Screws, the General Manager.

Along with the opening of Publix, will come a Dunkin Donuts and an Office Depot, although there is more specific news on the Office Depot in the video.  I will say I was a little disappointed.

In addition, the completed CRA on R Jackson Blvd (formerly known as Beckrich Road) is looking good.  The widening and overall beautifucation is a refreshing example of what all of our major traffic corridors will look like in due time.  I, as well as most of you, anxiously await the day when the rest of the CRA is complete.  I just hope they don’t rename every street that is redone.

I do have one question for city officials.  What is the maintenance program set in place for all the beautiful landscaping that was put in on Beckrich Road?  There are TONS of weeds coming up in the median and it will not take long for it to look taken over and very unkept.

New Top-Tech Helicopter at Beach Navy Base

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A new MH-60S recently arrived at the Naval Surface Warfare Center Panama City Division (NSWC PCD) bringing with it a new technological era for Airborne Mine Countermeasures. NSWC PCD will be outfitting the airframe with advanced technology bringing the Navy closer to adding an Organic Airborne Mine Countermeasures (OAMCM) capability as part of its forward deployed Fleet.

“It is an evolutionary step toward putting that capability resident within the strike group as compared to our historical approach to mine warfare. In the past when forward deployed forces encountered an area needing to be cleared of mines, we had to halt forces to move mine warfare assets into theater,” said U.S. Navy Mine Warfare Program Office Deputy Program Manager, Capt. John F. Hardison.

Hardison said once the sensors and airframe are fully integrated, deploying them aboard the Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) is one of the last legs in the journey required to have AMCM capability resident within the Fleet.

The arrival of the aircraft at NSWC PCD’s Aviation Unit March 7, 2009 signifies a novel approach to OAMCM. However, to reach journey’s end, Hardison said full integration of airframe and sensors is the Navy’s next step.

“We’ve arrived at a point where we need to test, evaluate and develop tactics for those new sensors,” Hardison said. “So, integrating them onto the MH-60S has really necessitated placement of the helicopter that is going to perform the mission at Panama City, which is our Mine Warfare Center of excellence.”

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The Navy’s suite of OAMCM sensors to be deployed using the MH-60S includes the AN/AQS-20A, an underwater mine-detection sonar; the Organic Airborne and Surface Influence Sweep (OASIS), the Airborne Mine Neutralization System (AMNS); the Airborne Laser Mine Detection System (ALMDS); and the Rapid Airborne Mine Clearance System (RAMICS).

These sensors are being developed at NSWC PCD to hunt, detect, classify, and neutralize mines from the air. Once fielded, these systems represent an evolutionary advancement in technology and will allow operators to put physical distance between sea mines and the Navy’s most priceless asset – U.S. Sailors. Hardison said integration of these sensor systems aboard the MH-60S is an integral part of the Navy’s OAMCM vision.

“It would dramatically reduce the Navy’s response time to bring those capabilities to bear in the theater of operations,” Hardison said.

Pilots, air crewmen, maintenance specialists and additional technical equipment have all been arriving in anticipation of delivery of the first MH-60S, according to Hardison.

“So, stationing all needed assets in Panama City is far more efficient than what we’ve had to do in the past: packing up a whole detachment from HX-21 or VX-1 and moving them down there,” Hardison said.  NSWC PCD Commander, Capt. Andrew Buduo III, said Panama City had carefully chosen staff members for its Aviation Unit.

“The Officer In Charge (OIC) of our Aviation Unit, Lt. Cmdr. James Schmitt, was specifically chosen to lead the transition to the new helicopter.  His first tour was as an MH-53E pilot, but he made an MH-60S transition and flew ‘60s for his next three tours,” Buduo said.

RH-53D’s and MH-53E’s have had a long and distinguished career supporting the Navy. Buduo added that the ‘53’s have been the Navy’s primary platform for conducting AMCM missions for more than 40 years.

“The MH-53E is a very large, powerful and capable helicopter. Its fuel load alone weighs more than the maximum gross weight of the MH-60S. Of course one of its drawbacks is just that – its size. Consequently, it’s too big to operate from many of our surface platforms. The MH-60S is a lot smaller and therefore can be supported from more of our surface ships,” he said.

Buduo said the Navy’s evolution toward OAMCM capability will mean deploying the helicopter with its accompanying suite of sensors aboard its intended host platform, the LCS.

“Our plan is to deploy our MCM capability aboard the LCS. LCS Mission Modules will be pre-positioned throughout the world and when the Navy needs that capability it will already be either onboard or in theater. Currently, we have to load up an AMCM squadron and their MH-53E’s and deploy them to the OPAREA,” he said.

Lt. Cmdr. James Schmitt, OIC of NSWC PCD’s Aviation Unit, said one of the biggest challenges during OAMCM testing is to ‘interface’ the suite of sensors and the airframe.

“With the MH-60S, we are testing a lot of new equipment. The mission systems, the Carriage Stream Tow and Recovery System (CSTRS), the Common Console, and even the aircraft are all new. So are the interfaces between them. Ideally, we would introduce only one new item at a time, as has traditionally been the case with AMCM testing on the MH-53E. With OAMCM on the MH-60S, everything from the device to the aircraft is a potential variable,” Schmitt said, emphasizing this greatly complicated the research, development, test and evaluation process.

Hardison said this particular stage of OAMCM development also afforded additional opportunities to refine concepts of operation.

“We fully expect this to be a continuous evolution in refining tactics,” Hardison said. “And Panama City is the perfect place to develop and evaluate best practices for Fleet use of these systems.”

Episode #6 – Hot Deals at an Absolute Auction, Island Reserve

The Beach Show is your ONLY internet TV show all about Real Estate on Panama City Beach.

Call us at 866-994-1770 to see these properties or for anything else you need regarding real estate in Panama City Beach.

Show Notes

Deal 1

  • List Price: $269,900
  • Square Feet: 2,172
  • Price/SqFt: $124.26
  • 3 Bedrooms, 2 Bath
  • Built in 1991
  • This home is in superb condition and the landscaping is simply amazing, nearly flawless. There is nothing needed to move in, it’s ready to go. In addition, this IS NOT a short sale and the seller is ready for a quick closing. You just can’t beat the neighborhood, location, house, community, this listing has it all. There have been many upgrades recently, including a Rinnai tankless water heater, oversized shower/bathroom, new roof, pool, big back yard, newer A/C and so much more. The seller is very motivated and ready to move out, make an offer.

Deal 2

  • List Price: $299,500
  • Square Feet: 2,150
  • Price/SqFt: $139.30
  • 3 Bedrooms, 2.5 Bath
  • Built in 1984
  • This immaculate home in Bay Point is also move-in ready. Karen says, “bring your toothbrush to the closing table.” If you aren’t familiar with Bay Point, it has long been considered one of the premier neighborhoods in Panama City Beach. At one point, you couldn’t touch a home in here for less than $400k, but this is a sweet deal at $299k. No work is needed, this house has newer applicances and a newer roof sitting right on the Meadow’s Golf Course.

Deal 3

  • List Price: Nobody knows yet, absolute auction, set your own price!
  • Square Feet: Ranges from 1,069 to 3,019
  • Price/SqFt: Mystery!
  • 1 to 3 bed condos, 3 & 4 bed townhomes
  • Brand new, never been lived in.
  • This is a rare opportunity to get into a very nice brand new condo or townhome in an awesome resort community for a very great price. 100 condos are selling absolute on Saturday May 16, 2009 at 12 noon onsite and they are sure to bring a great price. Just to give you an idea for what has sold in the past at auction, The Towne of Seahaven, Origin sold on average for around $160/foot in December. Seahaven is across the street from the beach. I can’t speculate here how much these will sell for, but I’d bet they’ll be a screamin deal. If you have any interest in bidding, give us a call and we’ll get you all set up.

Call us at 866-994-1770 to see these properties or for anything else you need regarding real estate in Panama City Beach.


TDC: New Website, New Commercial, New PCB?

First things first, the new website is now live, check it out here. It’s colorful, comprehensive and light years beyond what the old site was capable of ever achieving. But does it aid in the TDC’s overall goal of rebranding Panama City Beach? Well, maybe not all by itself but as a central component to a whole plan, I think it might do the trick.

During Tuesday’s TDC/CVB meeting unveiled was the highly-anticipated summer campaign. This campaign has been much ballyhooed for the entire off-season, but on Tuesday we actually got to see some of the campaign in action which can all be summed up in one word: Rebranding. Everything within the program is used as a tool to rebrand Panama City Beach as a clean, fun and family-oriented vacation destination. I mean, take a look at the upcoming 30 second commercial ad.

It is without a doubt the best representation of Panama City Beach I’ve ever seen. It’s clean, beautiful and really showcases what’s best about the beach. In fact, you see a nice shot of Pier Park, Shipwreck and what it might be like to visit PCB. Susan Estler, vice president of marketing, said they went from one end of the beach to the other to really give people an experience of PCB. And that’s not stock footage you’re looking at, but real people on Panama City Beach. The activities look exciting, the weather looks great and the voice over talks about Doctors and Lawyers as if to say, “this is what you’re missing by believing PCB is the Redneck Riviera.”

The campaign includes components like a video competition, social media networking, microblogging, but the majority of the efforts will be targeted cable advertising that will be geared towards driving people to the website. Together, these two components (TV and website) should, theoretically, provide potential tourists with enough images, video and interactivity to make them rethink their preconceived notions about our great city as it re-announces itself as the “Real. Fun. Beach.”

The launch date for the campaign is slated for Memorial Day, or at least the days preceding it (May 18 it is set to begin). Now, before you criticize the date saying that Summer is already on us and it’s too late, consider this: The TDC/CVB is strategically tying its launch date with a holiday to help drive people and create a buzz. This holiday strategy will also be the tone for the big “Real. Fun. Contest” which will allow people to determine their beach personality (are you an “after dark shark” or a member of the “sandy bottom bunch?”). The contest is set to coincide with the 4th of July. What should also be considered is although you might think this launch date is a little late for summer, it is just the right time for the new airport. In a year from now people will be flying into Panama City Beach from places that, prior to, may not have known we existed outside of Spring Break. The marketing and advertising campaigns have this in mind.  Mike Bennett acknowledged this; “with the new airport coming,” he said, “we have one chance to make a great impression.” And that’s the plan, give a new first impression of Panama City Beach. In fact, the TDC and CVB have already shared in-depth talks about airline advertising including an early jump on advertising through new the on-plane wi-fi systems announced recently by Air Tran.

What may surprise you most about the summer marketing campaign is that its all been done under budget. It should be noted that they own the website, the images, the video–even the b-roll and got it for around $250,000. Coupled with the other marketing dollars spent, that leaves $1.5 million of the marketing budget remaining. After a motion by Marty Mcdaniel, the board decided to meet again before Memorial day to negotiate applying more budget money towards summer marketing, focusing more effort on the tourism window of June and July.

That same budget will be used in Fall and Winter campaigns as well. The opening talks did not go into detail about the Fall and Winter campaigns but did acknowledge a need to frame the time of year rather than focus primarily on events. “We’ll have marquee events,” said Dan Rowe, “but we want to encourage marquee reasons to get away. ‘the weather is good…let’s go.’ [to Panama City Beach].”

All these efforts are betting on the new brand, betting that a new Panama City Beach can be presented to the world and the world will accept Panama City Beach as something other than a Spring Break destination. They’ve set the groundwork for that brand with the new campaign and, theoretically, the world will see us as a “Real. Fun. Beach.” The question remains, though the world may see PCB anew on TV spots and online,  what will they find when they actually get here? A new brand is different than a new image…but that’s a topic for another post.

All in all, the campaign should do well. The “Real. Fun. Contest” should create a genuine buzz. I, for one, am excited and encouraged by the efforts being put forth.

More News: March Bed Tax numbers are down from 2008 but up from 2007. Optimism is abound for April’s numbers after the successful Jazz Festival and Skim Jam. Year-to-date (Oct-Mar.) the numbers are up 1.2%.

CVB is spending $65,000 to aid in the enhancement of the beach providing additional beach safety signs and working with Boomer Aviation for flying billboards announcing double red flags. They are also working on a texting program to alert vendors and contributors about flag changes.

Twitter Weekly Updates for 2009-05-12

Gov Crist Here, Comments on Airport, No Education Cuts, and Offshore Oil Drilling

Dancing on the animated floor projection, Governor Charlie Crist made an appearance at the Panama City Beach’s Chamber of Commerce last Tuesday to attend a “round-table” meeting with 10 of the leaders of the Panama City Beach community.  Among many topics, the dynamics involved with education funding, offshore drilling, and the new Panama City-Bay County Airport were discussed.

A restricted schedule kept the questions to a minimum, but 5 were able to address the Governor including Anthony DuBose on the lending industry, Al McCambry on private vs public education funding, Dan Rowe on offshore drilling, Tom Morgan about the new airport, and Gary Walsingham regarding college funding.  The answers varied and actually resulted in around 50 minutes of video footage.

Starting off discussing the housing market, Governor Crist talked about the current 10% annual cap on property taxes for 2nd homes and businesses and the possiblity of that being cut in half, should the people of Florida vote on it on the November 2010 ballot.  The Florida legislature just passed this to be on the ballot.  In addition, there will also be a 25% reduction in property taxes to first-time homebuyers.

Governor Crist also commented on state-wide education in that when he first came into office, Education Weekly ranked Florida education 31st out of 50 in the United States.  Last year, the state of Florida was ranked 14th and this year Florida ranked 10, marking a clear improvement, Crist said.  The Governor humbly credited his predecessor Gov Jeb Bush for setting in play most of what led to the increase in quality education in Florida.

Regarding offshore drilling, Governor Crist voiced his opinion in support of drilling citing that if “it’s safe enough, far enough and clean enough,” then he thinks we should do it.  He discussed a new technology that was presented to him three weeks ago that placed a mushroom-shaped dome on the ocean floor that housed all the oil extraction equipment so that no surface equipment would be needed any longer.  He said that this could be the future of drilling and could lead to less environmental risk.  “I believe the founders of our country signed the Declaration of Independence, not the Declaration of Dependence,” said Crist, describing how we need to alleviate our dependence on foreign oil.

Governor Crist commented on the airport saying that the timing couldn’t be better to help push this part of Florida into prosperous economic times.  Enterprise Florida, a new initiative to grow industry in the State of Florida has the potential to spread its influence further into the Bay County area, and Crist said that is largely due to the economic opportunities the new airport will make possible.  There lies huge opportunity in the aerospace, bio-engineering, cargo, and more.  Crist, excited about the opportunity, “This is so much the right thing to do.”

Crist also cited that there was an increase in education funding to the tune of $2.1 billion which will lead to about $43 million in increased funding for community colleges and $100 million in increased funding for university-level colleges.

In attendance:

  • Beth Oltman, President/CEO of the Panama City Beach Chamber
  • Anthony DuBose, President of Coastal community Insurance and PCB Chamber
  • Mayor Gayle Oberst of Panama City Beach
  • Philip Griffitts Jr., Owner of Sugar Sands Inn and Suites
  • Paul Wohlford, VP Sales and Marketing of the Resort Collection of Panama City Beach
  • Marty McDaniel, President of Oaseas Resorts, Chairman of the Bay County TDC
  • Dan Rowe, President of the Panama City Beach Convention and Visitors Bureau
  • Jessica Pfefferkorn, Commanding Officer, Naval Support Activity Panama City
  • Robert Carroll, Vice President, McNeil Carroll Engineering
  • Al McCambry, General Manager of Knology
  • Karen Blackerby, Vice President of Magnum Capital
  • Jack Bishop, Restaurant Owner
  • Steve Counts, President of Counts Real Estate Group
  • Gary Walsingham, CEO Walsingham Investment/Ripley’s Beleive It or Not
  • Elizabeth Walters, Attorney/Partner of Burke Blue Hutchison Walters & Smith
  • Edy Rivard, Gulf Coast Medical
  • Tom Morgan, St. Joe

FREE Rare Beer at Hofbrau Beer Garden Friday

051109_premium_lager_perfectFriday Hofbrau Beer Garden will be giving away a whole keg of rare Premium Unfiltered Lager.  Yes, that’s the name, and if you are a German Beer fan, you know the name well.  You also know that this beer is imported from Germany in a very limited supply and usually only supplied to bonafide Hofbrauhaus’.  However, the owners made some calls and were able to score 6 barrels that they’ve been saving for the locals.

So, let me reiterate.  Hofbrau Beer Garden in Pier Park in Panama City Beach has 6 barrels of Premium Unfiltered Lager imported in limited supply from Germany, and they are giving 1 of their 6 barrels away for free Friday night.  They received these barrels a few weeks back and wanted to save them for the locals.  The other 6 barrels are expected to go quickly Friday night as well.

Premium Unfiltered Lager is described by Hofbrauhaus Las Vegas as a unique, rare and creative beer that lets beer drinkers enjoy the rich taste of hops.  It’s a German-style beer that dates back to at least the Middle Ages. It is matured unbunged (the beer is exposed) in deep vaults. The final product is a smooth, naturally cloudy beer that is rich in vitamins from the yeast with a crisp taste of hops. Premium Unfiltered lager is best served between 40 and 45 degrees Fahrenheit.  It is said that Bavarians have been drinking this particular beer for 400 years.

One Beach, Two Extreme Events

beachblast045This past weekend Panama City Beach enjoyed two very unique and extreme events; the Gulf Coast Triathlon and the Paragliders Beach Blast. Competitors and tourists from countries all over the world came down for the events hosted on the “World’s Most Beautiful Beach.”

For the fourth consecutive time, Mike Neill, hailing from British Columbia, Canada, won the Gulf Coast Triathlon, on this occasion enduring 85 degree heat to turn in a time of 4:06:33. Fellow Canadian, Ben Cotter, finished second 7 minutes off pace with a time of 4:13:58. The first local male to cross the finish line was David Shearon with a time of 4:37:17, a time good enough to land him 12th overall. Caroline Smith of Mandeville, LA won for the women with a time of 4:43:29 followed not far behind by Gabriela Loskotova from the Czech Republic with a time of 4:47:48. The first local female to cross the finish line was Helen Libby from Lynn Haven, who, like her fellow local top finisher, finished 12th with a time of 5:08:24.

If you were out cheering on the racers you might’ve noticed the perfect blue sky dotted with colorful gliding chutes. Edgewater Beach Resort hosted the Beach Blast, a showcase of the world’s most talented Paragliders. For those who don’t know, Paragliding is a recreational and competitive flying sport where a Paraglider, in a free-flying, foot-launched aircraft, sits in a harness suspended below a fabric wing and takes to the air using air pressure and a motorized fan to pilot. Nearly a hundred of these Paragliding pilots from all over the world owned the Panama City Beach skies. It was quite a site to see. Even beach-lovers, amazed by the flying chutes, got a chance to fly as the pilots gave tandem rides to onlookers, strapping them in and flying them over the beach and shoreline.

In one weekend we saw running, swimming, biking and flying. I guess that just about covers all the bases and summer hasn’t even started yet.

More Beach Blast Pictures

LeaderShape Institute Visits Panama City Beach

We had several students from Florida State and FAMU visit for a beach cleanup and survey this week. Thanks to PanamaCityBeach.com for sending us this group and to Royal American Beach Getaways for supplies and sponsorship.

The following is a report from the students and facilitators.  I’ll comment that adding trash bags to the beach could be dangerous as they indicate, but it would be better than more cans. The cans are ugly and filthy; people must learn to take their trash off the beaches for proper disposal.

The TDC has reported that they are looking into bio-degradable bags for the public beach entrances. I believe this would help.

Thank you VERY MUCH to the students and facilitators who visited our beaches and participated in the cleanup.

LeaderShape alumni include Google co-founder Larry Page.
LeaderShape alumni include Google co-founder Larry Page.
FAMU and Florida State LeaderShape Institute
FAMU and Florida State LeaderShape Institute

(Report from participants in the LeaderShape Institute)

60 students and 11 faculty members from Florida State University and Florida A&M University are taking part in a national program called the LeaderShape Institute. The LeaderShape Institute encourages students to develop a vision for positive change in their communities while being provided with the knowledge and resources to learn how to live and lead with integrity.

As part of the day’s curriculum theme, which was “The value of one, the power of all,” our students divided into groups to complete service projects in the PCB area Saturday morning. Engaging in active service teaches our participants how to work together to identify community needs and create positive change through outreach and relationship-building.

The students working on the beach clean up awareness campaign worked together to pick up litter and gather qualitative data from beach-goers to determine how well the needs of the beach community are being served.

Here are their findings:
1. How clean are these beaches compared to public places?

The students interviewed approximately 50 beach-goers at 2 sites-some local and some tourist. The responses that most tourists offered surprised many of our students because the majority felt as though the beaches were cleaner than most. On a scale of 1 to 10, 10 being the most filthy, tourists gave the beaches a 4 score on average. However, the students were presented with a very different perspective from local residents, particularly one of the lifeguards. The lifeguard, a native of Hawaii, said that of all of the country’s beaches, PCB was among the dirtiest. The students reasoned that the beaches were cleaner at this point of year than during peak seasons, which would explain why tourists’ perceptions of the beach condition would be cleaner than the locals’ perceptions. The group collected approximately 25 full bags of garbage, in which were aluminum cans, cigarette butts, Styrofoam cups, old beach toys, and even several diapers.

2. If you were given trash bags, would you be more inclined to clean up your trash?

Almost every respondent indicated that offering personal trash bags would not only fail to solve the problem, but possibly make it worse. Students cited the following reasons:
-failure to properly secure the bags would lead to wind blowing the trash out of the bags and back onto the beach
-the bags might get left on the beach, causing more litter
-the bags might blow into the ocean, creating a hazard for marine life

On the other hand, the students proposed the following solutions:
-more large blue trash receptacles
-in place of using tax dollars to comb the beach, the city should sponsor a local initiative for beach cleanup. Local residents suggested that most volunteer groups that come out to clean up the beach are from out of town and cannot return frequently enough to make a lasting change in the beach condition. By sponsoring local organizations and volunteer efforts, PCB can encourage more consistent effort and attention on the upkeep of its beaches.

3. How much money is spent on beach cleanup annually?

The students documented a wide range of responses, ranging from a few thousand to 4 million dollars. The respondents were generally surprised to find out that over 1 million dollars is spent on beach clean up each year.

The students indicated that they learned a great deal from their experience. Part of the LeaderShape curriculum emphasizes the importance of “staying in action,” so the students have been encouraged to take their new knowledge and contact the appropriate community officials and representatives to encourage more attention and funding to be given to the preservation of the beaches.