Pier Park adds Nike, Crocs, Runway Collection and More

Simon Property Group, Inc. (NYSE:SPG) is pleased to announce several specialty shops scheduled to open before the holidays at Pier Park, the 900,000-square-foot retail and entertainment lifestyle center located on 93 acres that covers land from Front Beach Road (at the City Pier) to the heavily traveled Highway 98 (Back Beach Road) in Panama City Beach. Simon Property Group is the country’s largest owner, developer and manager of high-quality retail real estate.

Retailers scheduled to debut in time for holiday shopping include the following:

  • Aqua Gallery
  • AT&T
  • Crocs
  • Emerald Coast Mirror Maze
  • Nike
  • Polka-dots, toys and gifts
  • Runway Collection

Aqua Gallery offers an eclectic mix of gifts based on works of art. The store will carry prints, books, carpets, electronics and more. Aqua Gallery is scheduled to open in the Boardwalk area in early November.

AT&T is the nation’s largest wireless company and the premier telecommunications company in the world. With the largest digital wireless voice and data network in the country, exclusive devices like the iPhone, unlimited calling to the largest Mobile to Mobile calling community and advantages like Rollover Minutes, AT&T helps connect people to their worlds wherever they live and work. AT&T is scheduled to open at Pier Park during the first week of December.

Crocs, Inc. is a rapidly growing designer, manufacturer and retailer of footwear for men, women and children under the Crocs brand. Crocs is committed to making a lightweight, comfortable, slip-resistant, fashionable and functional shoe, which can be produced quickly and at an affordable price to customers. Crocs shoes are sold in more than 100 countries and come in a wide array of colors and styles. Crocs is scheduled to open at Pier Park during the first week of December.

Emerald Coast Mirror Maze and Laser Craze are scheduled to open at Pier Park in late November. This is a family activity that challenges both the young and “young at heart” at Pier Park. Mirror Maze is exclusive to Pier Park in Florida and one of only four in the Southeast. Along with getting lost in the labyrinth of mirrored passages and dead ends within the mirror maze, the visitors to Emerald Coast Mirror Maze can experience the thrill of traversing the Laser Craze, a corridor of laser beams crisscrossing in a black room. Emerald Coast Mirror Maze will make your visit to Pier Park a memorable one for years to come.

The Nike swoosh is recognized and respected worldwide and will debut at Pier Park in mid-November. Nike, Inc. based near Beaverton, Oregon, is the world’s leading designer, marketer and distributor of authentic athletic footwear, apparel, equipment and accessories for a wide variety of sports and fitness activities. Nike is dedicated to developing products that help athletes of every level of ability reach their potential.

Polka-dots, toys and gifts, opened on the boardwalk on October 17. Owners Deb and Gary Pruitt choose products for Polka-dots that they feel will be remembered for a lifetime–products that promote creativity and imagination and toys that make learning an adventure. You won’t find this unique selection of European and American-made toys anywhere else. Polka-dots also offers gifts, featuring items such as wine accessories, French soaps, soy candles, music, gourmet foods, cookbooks, seasonal items and much more. There is sure to be something for everyone on your list this holiday season.

Runway Collection is a men’s and women’s fashion boutique which offers high-end designer options in a range of prices. Runway Collection is scheduled to open in the Boardwalk area at Pier Park in late November.

Pier Park, which boasts eight anchors and more than 100 retailers currently open, is continuously expanding to offer the Emerald Coast and tourists a more enhanced shopping experience.

“We’re very pleased to see the mix of stores and entertainment options growing at Pier Park,” said Felicia Cook, director of mall marketing at Pier Park. “The arrival of retailers that are exclusive to the market, such as Mirror Maze, and retailers who already have presence, such as Polka-dots, further validate Pier Park as the premier shopping destination in the Southeast.”

Cook also noted that more store and restaurant openings will be announced in the next few months.

Total List of Stores currently open in Pier Park include the following:

Anchors

  • Borders
  • Dillard’s
  • JCPenney
  • Margaritaville
  • Old Navy
  • Ron Jon Surf Shop
  • Target
  • The Grand 16 Theatres

Specialty Shops

  • A.M. Cafe Accessories On The Boardwalk
  • Aeropostale
  • Alltel Wireless
  • American Eagle Outfitters
  • Ann Taylor Loft
  • As Seen On TV & More
  • Ava Blue Boutique
  • Back Porch Seafood & Oyster House
  • Baja Grille
  • Bath & Body Works
  • Beach Scene
  • BeBo’z
  • Bellies & Babies
  • Blender Clothing, a fusion boutique
  • Bootleg Barbeque
  • Buffalo Wild Wings
  • Caché
  • Camille’s Sidewalk Café
  • Candy Maker
  • Carlyle & Co.
  • Carter’s Clothing
  • Chico’s
  • Claire’s
  • Coldwater Creek
  • Cost Cutters
  • Counts Oakes Resort Properties
  • Déjà vu
  • Del Sol
  • Emerald Coast Photography
  • Fish Tales
  • Five Guys Famous Hamburgers & Fries
  • Footprints Coastal Decor
  • GameStop
  • GNC
  • Great American Cookies PretzelMaker
  • Guglielmo’s Italian Restaurant
  • Hana Japan
  • Hofbrau Beer Garden
  • Hollister Co.
  • Jake at the Beach (Life is Good)
  • Jos. A. Bank
  • Journeys
  • Justice
  • Kay Jewelers
  • Kilwin’s Chocolates & Ice Cream
  • Lane Bryant/Cacique
  • Lids
  • LongHorn Steakhouse
  • Marble Slab Creamery
  • Massage Envy
  • Maurices
  • Merle Norman Cosmetics Studio
  • Mermaid Trading Co.
  • Motherhood Maternity
  • Nails So Happy
  • New York & Company
  • No Regrets Stationery and Gifts
  • Olive Garden
  • PacSun
  • Paint’n Place
  • Panera Bread
  • Paradise Found
  • Payless ShoesSource
  • Peace Frogs
  • Perfumania
  • Polka-dots, toys and gifts
  • Popcorn Kingdom
  • Rack Room Shoes
  • Red Brick Pizza
  • Reggae J’s Island Grill
  • Regions Bank
  • Rocky’s South Philly Cheesesteaks
  • Shimmering Seas Jewelry and Gifts
  • Smoothie King
  • Solace Day Spa & Salon
  • Southern Waters Outfitters
  • Starbucks
  • Sunglass Hut
  • Sunglass World
  • Sunsights by Solstice
  • Tatoe Tots
  • The Eye Gallery
  • The Walking Company
  • Tilly’s
  • Tootsies Orchid Lounge
  • Trader Tom’s
  • Tran Fashion
  • Ulta Beauty
  • Unique Boutique by Irene & Co.
  • Verizon
  • Victoria’s Secret
  • Yankee Candle
  • Zales

About Pier Park
Located in the heart of Panama City Beach, Pier Park is destined to become the region’s premier shopping address.  Developed by Simon Property Group and comprising nearly 900,000 square feet, the open-air regional lifestyle center is anchored by Borders, Dillard’s, JCPenney, Jimmy Buffett’s Margaritaville, Old Navy, Ron Jon Surf Shop, Target and The Grand 16 Theatres. Pier Park is also comprised of fashion and specialty retailers, including exciting new-to-market choices such as Ann Taylor Loft, Caché, Chico’s, Coldwater Creek, Hollister Co., Jos. A. Bank, Lane Bryant and Ulta Beauty. In addition, the center embraces many unique dining options such as Hofbrau Beer Garden, Back Porch Seafood & Oyster House, Bootleg Barbeque, Five Guys Burgers and Fries, Longhorn Steakhouse, Panera Bread, Reggae J’s Island Grill, Tootsies Orchid Lounge and many more. Shoppers can also enjoy movies at The Grand 16 Theatres, which features stadium seating, digital sound, advance ticketing over the Internet, three concession areas, a specialty café and game room. For more information about Pier Park, please visit http://www.simon.com

About Simon Property Group
Simon Property Group, Inc. is an S&P 500 company and the largest public U.S. real estate company. Simon is a fully integrated real estate company which operates from five retail real estate platforms: regional malls, Premium Outlet Centers®, The Mills®, community/lifestyle centers and international properties. It currently owns or has an interest in 385 properties comprising 262 million square feet of gross leasable area in North America, Europe and Asia. The Company is headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana and employs more than 5,000 people worldwide. Simon Property Group, Inc. is publicly traded on the NYSE under the symbol SPG. For further information, visit the Company’s website at http://www.simon.com

TDC Approves working with MTVu for Spring Break

The Tourist Development Council approved moving forward with MTVu for promoting Spring Break 2009.  I guess at this point, it is too late to “go back to the drawing board.”

Here is the evolution of how it all went down.

The original MTVu proposal included a 10 day village with 8 concerts over 4 days, 300 30 second TV ad spots, 10 million online impressions, a database by which to collect user contact info (mobile numbers, email addresses, etc.), and a few more things.

The whole proposal was discussed during a marketing committee meeting and overall a motion was made to approve moving forward, but with the stipulation that the TDC wanted the price to be lowered to $200,000 (stemmed from what some believe as an effort to come up with less co-op money).

When MTVu heard about this, they weren’t that happy and came back with a proposal that was just more than half of their initial proposal for 20% less money.  Of course, that wasn’t gonna work for the TDC.  After calming MTVu down, Dan Rowe, et.al. was able to negotiate 250 30 second TV ad spots, 10 million online impressions, database collection, a 10 campus kick-off tour featuring Panama City Beach as a spring break vacation destination, featured premium placement on the MTVu hub page (what does that mean??), and a link back to the micro site (from where???).

Dan explained that some of the benefits of working with MTVu include that they are regulated by the FCC, they have a brand to protect, that they do NOT advertising any alcoholic products, will not publish any film/pictures of alcoholic related activity or drunk students, and that they are good for our image and our initiative to vacation responsibility.

The board stressed their desire to not spend more than $150,000, and that the rest MUST come from co-op sponsors.  Staff (Dan and co.) have so far received commitments for co-op in the amount of $50,500 and anticipates that number to grow as we come closer to spring break.  All additional funds generated will go first to operational costs associated (costs can be up to $90,000 above and beyond the $150,000 – someone correct me if I’m wrong here), then go to paying the TDC back for the initial $150,000 investment.

This year, compared to last year, there are actually three categories for co-op sponsors:

  • Lodging – hotels, condos, resorts, etc.
    • There will be two levels of sponsorship opportunities, premium and all the others.  Premium will be limited to 6 advertisers and will have premium placement on the main lodging page, and all the others will be on a page linked to through an “all offers”, or “all other offers” text or graphic link from the main lodging page.
  • Food/entertainment – restaurants, bars, clubs, etc. For this category, there are unlimited opportunities available, for premium and otherwise.  The premium sponsors will have the opportunity to have their specials, etc. broadcasted to the TDC database via text messages (that is supposed to be geo-targeted).
  • Retail/attractions – the new element (can’t beleive this never existed before), includes retails stores or services such as Victoria Secrets or California Cycles.  This category will have the same premium “text message” opportunity as the food/entertainment category.

There are a lot of cool things that can be done with text messaging marketing.  I’m not sure the geo-targeting aspects are all they are cracked up to be as they require to user to have an application up and running on their phone in order to receive messages, and I’m not sure that students will be walking around with their phones open and an app running, or if they’d even start the app in the first place.

Also, with doing just plain text message advertisements are still limited to 160 characters per messasge, which can get used up pretty quick.

Can this be done without MTVu, I’m sure of it.  However, at this point, what are the alternatives?  I don’t know, and neither does the TDC.  I’m sure they would be open to suggestions of anyone that could come in, set up a whole online marketing campaign with millions of impressions, put on a fairly large scale show with several concerts, incorporating a variety of web and tv posibilities and do it all for a package price.  Anyone?

Bayou Shrimp Boat

This is a photo of an authentic and dying part of the Emerald Coast.  Homemade shrimping and oyster boats are all but a thing of the past along the coastal bayous and bays of the panhandle.  During their hayday, you could see dozens of these boats trolling St. Andrews, Port St Joe and Apalach Bays.  Now it is rare to even glimpse a single vessel of this granduer (in my humble opinion).

This shot was taken just off Hwy 30-A on the road to Cape San Blas.  Many of you know 30-A as the road to Seaside to the west of PCB.  I had a “lifetime local” tell me that wasn’t 30-A, but according to the sign and all maps it’s FL Hwy 30-A just east of Port St Joe off of Hwy 98.

Description: This is one of my favorite photos.  The “homemade” shrimp boat was sitting in a quiet bayou near Cape San Blas.  As the sun rose it created a beautiful mirror image of the vessel.  Note the bright red hand-painted boat number.

**Click on the image to see a closeup of the details in the photo.

Visit my photo blog Sand between Your Toes .

Teddy

TDC's $52 million improvement iniative

Wednesday, the TDC’s Revenue Enhancement Committee (fancy for bed tax committee) met to discuss improvement ideas for Panama City Beach and how to fund it all.

The ideas range from a new beach trash disposal system to a grass amphitheatre with bathroom and concessions facilities at Aaron Bessant Park.

The ideas stem from the Strategic Plan and include:

  • TDC Marketing and Awareness
    • Welcome to the Beach campaign which would include welcome signs west of the Hathaway Bridge and along Highway 79, and replacing existing signs.
    • New beach trash disposal system to replace the existing blue refuse containers.
    • Beach safety campaign to increase public awareness about the flag warning system and fund additional flag poles. (THIS ISN’T ENOUGH, PEOPLE, AND YOU KNOW IT!)
    • Estimated total cost of $500,000 per year.
  • Special Events Marketing
    • Construct a permanent stage suitable for concerts and theatrical performances at Aaron Bessant Park, at Pier Park.
    • Build an amphitheatre ‘bowl’ with a grass covered berm with restroom and concession space on the back/underside of the grass ‘bowl’.  Should be capable of a 5,000 capacity.
    • Create space for tents, vendor areas, or other festival support areas in the flat areas of the park.
    • Estimated total coast of $5 million

I think this is a really neat idea, and definitely worth looking into, but we need to be planning for 25,000 people, not 5,000 people.  Aaron Bessant Park needs some renovation, but will never have the capability to have anything much larger than the summer Concerts in the Park series.  We need to be looking at improving larger capacity facilities, like Frank Brown Park.

  • Sports Marketing – Frank Brown Park
    • Develop two additional ‘pinwheels’ of softball/youth baseball fields with the appropriate infrastructure.
    • Make two of the fields in the new ‘pinwheels’ the ‘marquee’ fields with additional seating, dugouts, press boxes, etc., one for baseball, one for softball.
    • Look at building a warm-up pool and permanent seating at the aquatic center to enhance potential at attracting regional swimming competitions.
    • Enhance the equestrian facilities
    • Estimated total cost is $7.5 to $10 million
  • Sports Marketing – Sports Village Complex (in addition to Frank Brown Park, would need to acquire additional land)
    • Develop indoor field house to expand offerings to include court and mat sports.
    • Develop 8 to 12 rectangular fields for soccer, lacrosse, field hockey, flag football, etc. Some would have grass, others artificial turf
    • Develop 8 full-sized baseball fields for additional tournaments and practicing facilities.
    • Estimated total cost is $33 to $35 million
  • Destination Marketing
    • Begin international marketing efforts when the new airport comes online and our area becomes more easily accessed.
    • Increase domestic advertising – more money is needed in order to fully penetrate our core markets and expand outside the southeast (or we could just use the $500k that was wasted on the Summer White Sale campaign for something that is more innovative, creative, and effective)
    • Enhance the Visitor Center with new technology and look and feel
    • Estimated total cost is $1 to $2 million

Now, where did all these numbers come from?  That is an unknown as of now, just estimations.  The committee requested of Dan and Staff to ‘zero-base’ the numbers and give details to how much each aspect of these improvements will cost, ideally to have everything spelled out by the December TDC meeting.  The goal is to have everything in order to request an additional 2cents be added to the bed tax first part of the year.

Staff counsel, Doug Sale said that from implementation to actual collection could be up to 90 days, so if they could get the tax implemented first of the year, collections could start rolling in for the new season in spring break.

I’m in total agreement that we need to collect additional bed tax in order to keep up with the competition.  I’ve not been too impressed with the way the money has been spent in the past, however.  I will give kudos to TDC Chair Andy Phillips for staying on everyone to be sure the numbers included will have some specificity in the near future.

Fed Lowers a Half Point – I Have a Better Idea

The Federal Reserve’s Open market Committee announced Wednesday it was lowering the federal funds rate to 1%, it’s lowest level since 2004. Yet mortgage rates rose on the news and continue to rise today. Though, on the surface, this may seem contradictory it exposes a symptom of the larger financial crisis we face. Since seizing Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and passing the bailout plan, the Federal government has committed hundreds of billions of dollars in an attempt to thaw frozen credit markets and get the economy back on track. Unfortunately, all of that money is essentially borrowed.

Now the Feds are forced to sell billions in government bonds to fund their various bailouts and bank rescues flooding the market with an oversupply and thus driving down bond prices and driving up rates. This has a ripple effect throughout the capital and debt markets and increases the cost of borrowing for Fannie and Freddie. The higher borrowing costs are reflected in higher mortgage rates for consumers.

The bigger problem facing the Federal Reserve is that higher mortgage rates will have the effect of further weakening demand in the housing market. This will further amplify what is at the heart of this whole mess – declining home prices. As mortgage rates rise and home prices decline further, the rate of foreclosure is sure to rise putting even greater strain on banks and credit markets as well as Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac as the value of their assets depreciate and their ability to raise capital becomes more tenuous. To stop this vicious cycle the Fed and the Treasury must find a way to halt, and eventually reverse, the decline in home prices rather than continuing to merely react to each emergency caused by it. So how could they do it?

There have been a lot of proposals floated in recent weeks that aim to shore up the housing market, stop home price decline and prevent foreclosure. Some of these sound bizarre but viewed in the context of this historic financial crisis I’m willing to entertain anything.

One suggestion has been for Fannie and Freddie as well as banks taking part in the government bailout to offer mortgagors the option of a sixty year amortization. This would dramatically lower payments while not reducing the principal owed and provide an incentive to lenders in the form of greater interest income. Others say to allow everyone to refinance to some set fixed rate such as 5.25% that would provide payment stability and offer most borrowers some relief in the form of lower payments.

Still others have called for an outright principal reduction to lower mortgage balances to a point where borrower’s are no longer upside down in their homes. All of these ideas may have some merit but, in my opinion still do not address the root of the problem. We must create demand in the housing market so home prices will stabilize. How might that be done?

With thirty year mortgage rates creeping upward towards 7% for many borrowers, it is time the Feds start using some of the bailout money to back a program that would allow for a dramatically lower interest rate for all home-buyers coupled with a federally backed mortgage insurance plan to allow for lower down payments and longer amortizations. The lower rate, say 5.00% fixed for 40 years, along with a required down payment of 5% offset by a federal mortgage insurance premium of .75% annually but paid monthly would surely bring reluctant buyers back into the market. The increased demand for housing would drive up prices thus creating a win-win for the government in that the value of the bank stocks they now own would rise along with the portfolios of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac’s mortgage backed securities. Banks, not wanting to miss out, would begin lending again and the resulting competition would increase liquidity in the credit markets and benefit the economy as a whole and reduce the number of foreclosures.

This plan would not be a reward for bad behavior, would not punish homeowners who have paid their mortgages on time and could be easily implemented through the FHA, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Yes, it would be expensive in the short-run. But given the impotent attempts by the Feds to stop this snowballing housing crisis by hoping banks will lend again by throwing more at them are obviously not working. We need a better idea.

For this and more, visit my blog at www.activerain.com/blogs/hpalmer

Hunter Palmer

PCBDaily Twitter Weekly Updates for 11-4-2008

  • I’m totally wiped after walking the ironman race since 5am this morning #
  • working on a timelapse video of the ironman race that is actually still occurring. The pros have been done for a few hours #
  • I’m waiting in a hallway outside a secret room for an ironman media pass. #
  • Getting some lunch at j michaels. Love the fiik! #
  • I just got some very interesting information about what Corus Bank is doing with Laketown Wharf, check pcbdaily later to find out! #
  • @GrandPanama thank for following pcbdaily.com! #
  • @Tuulidog thanks for following pcbdaily.com! #
  • @getthebubbles thanks for following pcbdaily.com! in reply to getthebubbles #
  • I’m going over the spring break proposal presented at the tdc meeting today. #
  • @grandpanama thanks for following #

TDC to Discuss MTVu and New Web Site Presentations

The TDC meeting scheduled for Thursday at 2pm in the council room should be very interesting to say the least. On the agenda will be to discuss the MTVu program and hear from the interactive agencies bidding to build the new “Panama City Beach” web site.  I fully expect the meeting to be long and arduous and some tough decisions to be made.

I also assume there will be tons in attendance, so come early.

I will be making live updates from my cell phone using the lovely Twitter service, so be sure to sign up and follow pcbdaily.  And be sure to set up your mobile devices if you don’t want to keep checking our twitter page.

——————————————————-

AGENDA

COMBINED BOARD MEETING
Bay County Tourist Development Council
Panama City Beach Convention & Visitors Bureau, Inc.
Panama City Beach
Thursday, November 6, 2008                 2:00 p.m.        Council Room, PCB City Hall

I.    CALL MEETING TO ORDER

II.    ROLL CALL

A.    Invocation
B.    Pledge of Allegiance

III.    REQUESTS TO ADDRESS THE BOARD ON AGENDA ITEMS (3 Minutes)

IV.    UPDATE ON BED TAX COLLECTIONS, Ms. Charlene Honnen, Tourist Development Tax Specialist

V.    BOARD ACTION ITEMS

A.    Discuss and Consider for Approval Coastal Planning & Engineering Invoice #81029, Invoice #81030, and Invoice #81032, Mr. Dan Rowe, President

VI.    BOARD DISCUSSION ITEMS

A.    Review and Discuss mtvU Program, Mr. Dan Rowe, President

VII.    INTERACTIVE AGENCY PRESENTATIONS AND BOARD DISCUSSION (Order of Presentations Will Be Selected at Random)

A.    JB, Inc.
Presentation by Ms. Jennifer A. Barbee, Ms. Annette Gilespie, Ms. Kim Powers, and Ms. Marianne Cushing
B.    Miles Media
Presentation by Mr. Roger Miles, Mr. Ryan Nance, Ms. Elena Prostova, and Mr. Scott Templeton
C.    SimpleView
Presentation by Mr. Kevin Bate and Ms. Cara Scholke

VIII.    AUDIENCE PARTICIPATION

IX.    ADJOURNMENT

Photos from You – Sunsets and Local Paintings

Every week we’ll feature photos from you, the reader, of anything from crowded streets at Pier Park, to finger crabs scurrying across the beach.  They say pictures are worth a thousand words, share your words with pcbdaily.com.  Submit your photos and share your Panama City Beach pictures.

Panama City Beach – Pirate Ship

Old Panama City Surfer

Mama and Mr. Surf on Paddle Boards

Tootsies in Pier Park

Submitted by Cora Busch

Dunes of Panama, During Fall Break

Submitted by Sherry Lambert

Submitted by Miles Slauson

Sunset on the West End of Panama City Beach

Submitted by Kerry Hulber

If you want to see your photos on pcbdaily, email them to photos(at)pcbdaily.com

Get your 'I VOTED' Sticker at LaQuinta on Thomas Drive

I voted, did you?  Are you even registered?  You better be.

Actually, I voted early, but I went with my wife to vote earlier, and I watched our daughter, while my wife fulfilled her civic duty.

Quoted from BayPatiots.org:

In case you haven’t heard, Bay County Supervisor of Elections Mark Anderson has decided to NOT let the citizens have an “I Voted” sticker this year because of a complaint he received last election of “someone” being inappropriately touched by a poll worker handing out the stickers. We say balderdash! The citizens want these stickers for civic pride and to remind others to vote.
So….government…get out of the way and let the citizens take care of this!

I got my sticker from PT at the LaQuinta Inn on Thomas Drive, and I loved every second of it.  If you want your sticker, drive by and get one, you don’t even have to vote there.  Be sure to tell them Jason from pcbdaily sent you.