The Airport receives a new name...again

The Airport receives a new name
PANAMA CITY -- The Airport Authority voted Tuesday to change the name of the new airport under construction near West Bay to the Northwest Florida Beaches International Airport.
The change, in a close 3-2 vote, came just a month after the board named the new airport the Northwest Florida-Panama City International Airport, a label that drew critical comments from some quarters because of the "Panama City" tag, officials said.

"We did receive quite a few comments from the public and other government agencies," airport Executive Director Randy Curtis said.

Curtis said that over the course of two years in discussions with possible airlines for the new facility, carriers had made clear they hoped a name would be chosen with a more regional perspective to help marketing efforts.

Board Vice Chairman Bill Cramer protested that he thought the new name, with its Beaches moniker, made the Panhandle seem too "one dimensional."

He said the previous name, with its use of both "Northwest Florida" and "Panama City," accomplished the twin objectives of branding the region and letting visitors know the city they were flying into. Most large airports in Florida use the home city in their official names, Cramer said, and Panama City had a lot of "brand equity."
Both Cramer and board member Gerry Clemons, a former Panama City mayor, voted against changing the name.

Clemons said Panama City had spent millions of dollars over past years in efforts to keep the current airport afloat and deserved the recognition.

Written by Pat Kelly of the Panama City News Herald

News discovered by Beach Properties of Florida agent Tommy Brantley.

Long term growth is in the very near future for the Panhandle of Florida

by: Tommy Brantley of Beach Properties


While most of the Country waits for the economy to play out and recover the Panhandle of Florida has a bright spot on the horizon...a new International Airport. Located in the West Bay Sector of Panama City Beach the new airport is going to provide economic stimulation, both in terms of real estate development and business growth.

Indeed the small existing airport has hindered the area's growth while most other parts of Florida have grown immensily over the last 30 years. New airports around the State have proven to have a history of spurring growth over the long run. Just 10 years after the Southwest Florida International Airport opened in Ft. Myers, the population in Lee County grew 31.6 percent, considerably faster than the rest of the state and it continues to grow to this day.

After larger jets are able to fly to this area, more visitors will start coming from cities located in the Midwest and Northeast. Ultimately this will not only bring in more vacationers, but more businesspeople with site selection on their minds, and more real estate investors.

Currently the airport is in talks with low-cost air carriers about flying into the airport, which is a key component in spurring future development in the region. Bagging such a carrier to fly in and out of the new airport is so important that a small increase in Bay County's bed tax was approved to pay for the effort.

There will be 1,200 acres available for on-site industrial or other commerical development, including sites with direct runway access. The airport itself is only a small part of an entity called the West Bay Sector Plan, a master plan of 75,000 acres along the West Bay just northwest of Panama City. The Plan ultimately calls for the development of 37 million square feet of commerical property and 27,000 residential units. What makes this Plan so unique is that it calls for the conservation of 41,000 acres of the total 75,000 acres, including 33 miles of West Bay shoreline and 44 miles of creek and tributaries, to NEVER be developed.

An undertaking this large will undoubtedly change many times during the course of development. Starting small and branching out is the smartest way to ease into the project. Once the Airport is complete, it will attract airport services, which will, in turn, encourage hotel and retail growth. And this is just the beginning...

Tommy Brantley
tommy@beachpropertiesofflorida.com
850-699-6837 - Cell
850-213-5150 - Office
850-213-5155 - Office Fax

RESTORING ITS TRADE STATUS – The new Panama City International Airport and West Bay Sector

Carl Cronan is editor of Real Estate Florida.)

When it comes to Panama City’s new airport, Jerry Ray speaks with the passion and conviction of an evangelist. Much like a preacher with a Bible, he’s armed with his own historical perspective.

For instance, the beachside Florida Panhandle hotspot, long popular with spring breakers and summer vacationers, was known as a major port in the early 20th century. Originally called Harrison, it was renamed to connect with the still-new Panama Canal and was convenient to ships from both the Gulf of Mexico and the Pacific Ocean.

“They knew all this in 1914 and we have forgotten,” says Ray, senior vice president of strategic alliances with the Jacksonville-based St। Joe Co। He notes that Panama City’s premier port status lasted from 1915 until the 1929 market crash that led to the Great Depression...

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