Top Stories for 2008 on PCBDAILY.COM

2008 has been a monumental year for us at pcbdaily. We’ve seen super awesome growth, expanded our content base tremendously and have reached out to more people than we had ever expected.

Looking back, the top stories covered good times and bad, with some of the bad times being good for others and some of the good times being bad for some.

4 of the top 10 articles talked about new additions to our area, namely Pier Park and the new Panama City Bay County International Airport (I know, we need a new name, and that will be addressed in 2009).

Walking around the mall, it is sometimes hard to imagine that this time last year, Pier Park’s roads were not even paved yet. Colorful buildings had been erect for some time, but the mall as a whole was still just under 2 months from opening. Looking back, it amazes me how quick somethings get done.

The new airport has hit milestones aplenty during 2008. Just a little over a year ago, the airport groundbreaking ceremony took place. When 2008 rolled in, the airport was caught in a legal battle with the NRDC and the Fiends of PFN.

In what was expected to draw out for months, the case was totally thrown out on January 25th, clearing the Airport Authority for construction immediately. The case was in many instances described as frivolous, and was not taken seriously by the judge. Opponents touted the failure of an affirmative vote in a non-binding referendum vote, but were never able to validate the fairness of the actual vote in regards to it being represented to all those affected.

For the new airport, 2008 brought the site from a stumpy, patchy 4,000 acre site to a cleared, grubbed site that is almost completely brought to grade with terminal parking installed, foundation work for the terminal complete, an asphalt-paved runway with some concrete and funding for a full 10,000 foot runway.

As the economy has plunged during 2008, so have real estate prices. Now, this has been a topic of hot debate on pcbdaily. I’ve oft been blasted by the Realtor community for spreading “bad news” and not “helping” the market by taking part in the media frenzy of negativity. However, the reality is, those that are complaining should be putting that energy into finding buyers because now is a great time to buy real estate.

Plunging prices mean good deals for all buyers. I understand the hesitation and skepticism, but things will not always be this way, and in 10 years, us agents will be doing our homework on baypa.net thinking to ourselves that we should have bought as much as possible back in 2008 and 2009 when prices were so cheap. 3 of the top 10 articles of 2008 were specifically about condo auctions in Panama City Beach. The Palazzo condo auction story took the cake, trailed by the Ocean Reef Auction and the cancelled Marina Landing auction. The Seahaven auction actually made it in the top 15 and is only a few weeks old.

The other 3 articles of the top 10 articles of 2008 on pcbdaily have to do with problems at local condos and the condo market as a whole. Laketown Wharf has been a sore topic for many with the developer being a self-proclaimed Trump with a Drawl – Jerry Wallace.

A largely vacant, 750 condo, elephantine monolith, Laketown Wharf actually had great aspirations, with some possibility of success had it come unto creation mid 2004. With huge swimming pools, a Balagio-style fountain/light show, a 650-seat live performance theatre, 5 restaurants and 1,000’s of square feet of retail space, it was planned to be almost a small town.

With less than 70 closings, it has been largely regarded as a complete and utter failure, but Laketown Wharf yet has a bright future with Corus stepping in. 2009 should bring something good for that development, hopefully.

Anyway, enough – enjoy the articles and looking back on 2008!

10.) Marina Landing Auction – CANCELED

9.) New Airport is on Schedule – Construction Update

8.) 35 Condos Sold at Ocean Reef Auction

7.) Pier Park – Margaritaville Grand Opening in Panama City Beach (video)

6.) Construction Update – New Panama City Bay County International Airport

5.) 50 Palazzo Condos Sold at Auction on Panama City Beach

4.) Problems at Nautilus Cove Condominiums?

3). Panama City Beach Condo Market Analysis After The Palazzo Auction

2.) Pier Park Grand Opening was a Smash Hit

1.) Laketown Wharf Busts, Leaves Developer Crying

Panama City Bay County Airport Update

Construction at the new Panama City-Bay County International Airport continues to run smoothly and is currently about 3 and a half months ahead of schedule.

The entire project is about 35% complete, with the heavy civil portion, which includes the main runway, approximately 66% complete.

In general, almost 250 workers are regularly onsite each work day. Offsite quarries, asphalt plants, concrete pipe plants, truck drivers and other ancillary activities will normally employ another 350 people in significant activity.

As the terminal construction and utility installation contracts begin to ramp up after New Years, these numbers will increase

The foundation for the terminal building is underway with concrete being placed in the footers. Foundations are also underway for the various support buildings and the air traffic control tower. Concrete is being produced by local plants (offsite).

Approximately 40,000 tons of asphalt has been placed on the project to date. Contractors are currently paving the main apron areas.

Sands and fine aggregates are obtained from local sources while harder aggregates come from mines in Alabama and Marianna, Florida. Asphalt is mixed by CW Roberts in their Freeport and Panama City plants.

Approximately 55% of the main runway’s 15? concrete paving lanes are now in place.

Aggregates for the concrete are being sourced from local sand quarries and hard rock mines near Perry, Florida. Concrete is being placed by a team of local contractors that includes operators, finishers, and detailers.

To date 5.4 million cubic yards of earth has been moved on the project site.

Approximately 33,000 linear feet of reinforced concrete pipe has been produced locally and installed by the area’s contractors.

Over 40,000 linear feet of high-density plastic underdrains have also been installed.

Other local contractors are involved with providing dewatering pumps, erosion control and grass seeding.

Work on the underground utilities portion of the project is expected to begin on January 5, 2009.

Airport Construction Video Update

The new Panama City Bay County International Airport is flying along with more than 50% of the total work complete and only 40% of the total alotted time used. This places the hard working teams on site about 3 months ahead of schedule.

Anticipation grows daily as the whole site is in a constant state of change. I was up there Thursday of last week and it looks totally different from the way it looked just 60 short days ago.

I could tell you more, but you’ll just have to watch the video.

View in HD

Airport Authority Board Meeting Agenda

PANAMA CITY-BAY COUNTY AIRPORT AND INDUSTRIAL DISTRICT

PANAMA CITY-BAY COUNTY INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT

BOARD MEETING

DATE: November 20, 2008

TIME: 10:00 a.m.

PLACE: Board Room, Second Floor, Terminal Building

AGENDA

Board Chairman – Call Meeting to Order
1. Invocation
2. Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag
3. Roll Call
Approval of Minutes:
1. October 28, 2008 – Board Meeting Minutes
Airport Director’s Reports
1. Activity Report
2. Financial Report
3. Airport Relocation Project Report
Business Items:
1. Banner Tow Agreement – East Moriches
2. Banner Tow Agreement – Meek’s Aerial Advertising
3. Updated Retirement Services Agreement
4. SheltAir Sublease – Flight Deck Aviation
5. Purchase of Capital Vision Software Application
6. Award Bid for Utilities Package
7. Temporary Power to Construction Site
Other Business:
1. 2009 Board Meeting Schedule
Public Comments:
Adjournment and Meeting Schedule:
1. Board Meeting December 19, 2008 at 10:00 a.m.

Utility Bids Received on New Airport Construction

The following bids have been received by the Panama City – Bay County International Airport Authority for the Utilities Package for the new airport in Bay County, Florida.

The major work items included in the contract include installing:

A power distribution system;
A water distribution system;
Roadway and parking lot lighting;
A fuel farm;
A water storage tank and booster pump station;
A sanitary sewer system (including over 3 miles of force main, a lift station and a triturator airport receiving station).

Source: www.newpcairport.com

Foreign Trade Zone Status at New Airport

Panama City, FL (Nov. 10, 2008) – The Panama City – Bay County International Airport Authority has directed Airport Executive Director Randy Curtis to evaluate the options for establishing a Foreign trade zone at the new international airport currently under construction in West Bay.

“The airport board believes it is important to establish a Foreign Trade Zone at the new airport in order to maximize its economic development potential,” said Airport Authority chairman Joe Tannehill. “Having a foreign trade status at the new airport will put us in another category altogether and be an important differentiator in competing for new jobs and business expansions.”

The action taken by the Airport Authority is in consideration of extensive statistics documenting the importance of foreign trade to the Florida economy. It noted that establishing a Foreign Trade Zone at the new Panama City – Bay County airport would make the new facility one of 10 airports in Florida.

Airport board members agreed that Foreign Trade Zone in West Bay would benefit the community and the region by facilitating and expediting international trade, providing special customs procedures as a public service to help firms conduct business, encouraging and facilitating exports, attracting offshore activity, assisting state/local economic development efforts and creating employment opportunities.

The action taken directs Airport Executive Director Randy Curtis to begin immediately preliminary work to create a Foreign Trade Zone at the new international airport in WestBay.

Specifically, the board asked Curtis to develop options for the airport board to consider concerning the size and boundaries of the trade zone, including a discussion of the costs and benefits associated with each option presented. Further, the board asked Curtis to investigate public/private partnerships to stimulate intermodal infrastructure development.

Florida Trade Facts:

The U.S. is the world’s largest trading nation, exporting nearly $1.3 trillion in goods and services and more than one-fifth of the growth in U.S. GDP depends on exports. (1)

Manufacturing exports support an estimated 5.2 million jobs, including 1 in 5 manufacturing jobs, and jobs supported by goods exports pay 13-18% higher than the average wage. (2)

More than 30,000 companies export from Florida locations, including more than 28,000 small and medium-sized businesses. (3)

Florida’s export shipments of merchandise in 2007 totaled $45 billion, up 80 percent from $25 billion in 2003, ranking sixth among the states in terms of total exports in 2007, and exporting to 222 foreign destinations. (4)

1 – Office of the United States Trade Representative, 2005 data (latest available).
2 – Office of the United States Trade Representative, 2002 data (latest available).
3- International Trade Administration and Bureau of the Census, Foreign Trade Division (2006 data).
4 – Revised Origin of Movement State Export Series, Bureau of the Census, Foreign Trade Division (2007 data).

Contact:
The Panama City Bay County International Airport
Randy Curtis, Executive Director, 850-763-6751 ext. 203

Florida's Great Northwest at New Airport

As reported by newpcairport.com:

Florida’s Great Northwest recently hosted its 7th Annual Focus Northwest Florida Event which included a stop at the site of the new Panama City/Bay County International Airport.

The event provided site selection consultants, investors, developers and business executives from all over the world an opportunity to learn about the region and meet the area’s business and political leaders.

The 2008 event is believed to have been the largest site-selection consultant event held in the United States with 40 consultants attending from 13 different states and one consultant from France.

The group heard briefings from Airport Executive Director Randy Curtis, PBS&J’s Darren Larson and Bay County Economic Alliance Executive Director Ted Clem about the progress of the relocation project and what to expect at the completion of construction.

Afterwards, several members of the group got a bird’s eye view of the project via helicopter.

Airport Authority Prevails on Permit Challenge

News Release

PANAMA CITY – BAY COUNTY AIRPORT AND INDUSTRIAL DISTRICT
PREVAILS ON CHALLENGE TO ITS FEDERAL PERMIT

CONSTRUCTION CONTINUES ON NEW INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT

Panama City, Florida – (October 30, 2008) – The Panama City – Bay County International Airport and Industrial District (Airport Authority) received a Final Order in U.S. District Court in the Florida Clean Water Network, National Resource Defense Council and Defenders of Wildlife’s challenge to environmental permits issued on the Airport Authority’s project for a new international airport in West Bay.

In February, 2008 the Plaintiffs filed this lawsuit challenging the legality of a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers permit and attempted to obtain a temporary restraining order to suspend the permit and stop the construction of the Northwest Florida’s new airport. The Court denied the Plaintiffs’ Motion for a Temporary Restraining Order

In his ruling issued today, Judge Timothy J. Corrigan of the United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida, Jacksonville Division found that “the record supports that the Corps considered the concerns raised by those who opposed the project and the comments of those who favored it, it considered the FAA’s position, and it considered the goal of the Authority before determining that the project purpose should appropriately include flexibility for growth opportunities sufficient that international charter operations could use the airport.”

The Court further found that “the Corps considered the record before it, including the EIS (Environmental Impact Statement) prepared by the FAA (Federal Aviation Administration) and the West Bay Vision Plan (which, as noted above, envisions a fifty year regional development plan anchored by the relocated Airport), and determined that compatibility with these local and regional comprehensive planning efforts was a necessary and not incidental component of the project…..[T]he County looked to use the airport project as a centerpiece to stimulate economic development in the region at the only site that could accommodate growth and FAA safety and military airspace concerns while avoiding hurricane storm surges…”

“I am thrilled with the court’s decision. This has been a long fought battle and I am pleased that the court has vindicated our decision and the decision of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers,” said Joseph Tannehill, Chairman of the Airport Authority. “As the federal court noted, this airport project is the centerpiece to stimulate economic development. There’s no better time in the history of Bay County, considering these economic times, than for us to have this project at this stage at this time.”

Judge Corrigan’s opinion dismissed with prejudice the Plaintiffs’ claims pertaining to the Clean Water Act Section 404 permit which the Plaintiffs brought against the United States Fish and Wildlife Service and the United States Army Corp of Engineers under the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA).

“This Airport and the West Bay Sector Plan represent unique opportunities for Northwest Florida,” said Bill Cramer, Vice Chairman of the Airport Authority. “For once economic development can be advanced in unison with environmental protection. We appreciate the court’s judgment on our project and we will continue to proceed toward our projected opening of May 2010.”

Contact:
The Panama City Bay County International Airport
Randy Curtis, Executive Director, 850-763-6751

Video of Jason Koertge on the Lee Sullivan Show

I was on the Lee Sullivan Show a few weeks ago, and have gotten the show online. Lee and I discussed the TDC, the Summer White Sale and how IT WASN’T wildly successful, college spring break, sports marketing, bed tax increase, and tons more.

I’ve broken the show down to four videos. Total, it is around 20 minutes.

Segment 1

Segment 2:

Segment 3:

Segment 4:

Be sure to post a comment below!

New Airport Terminal Ready for Construction

As reported by NewPCAirport.com.

Construction of the new airport remains ahead of schedule – with only 36% of the time allotted on the heavy civil construction portion of the contract used, the project is currently 46% complete.

Walbridge, the company slated to build the terminal building and all support buildings is scheduled to be on site by October 20.

Preparation of the terminal building pad is complete and it is ready for construction to begin. Walbridge is just waiting on the Notice to Proceed from the Airport Authority Board which is expected on October 15, 2008.

The project is moving forward on all fronts. Currently:

The stabilized sub grad for the terminal parking lot area is complete, the curbing for the lot is ongoing and the limerock base is nearly 60% complete.

Curbing on the loop road is ongoing.

The General Aviation area access road is being final graded.

The flight line storm sewer is 85% complete.

On Runway 16-34, the asphalt base layer was scheduled to start going down on October 10, 2008. Concrete paving on the runway is expected to begin on November 11, 2008.

The earthwork on Taxiway D is 97% complete, with the stabilized sub grade 65% complete. The limerock base is nearing 50% completion. Asphalt paving is anticipated to start October 10, 2008.

The security fence around the perimeter of the airport is 46% complete.

Earthwork on the perimeter road is nearing 85% completion and the stabilization of the sub grade is ongoing.