PANAMA CITY, Fla. (WJHG/WECP) – If you happened to be in downtown Panama City on Thursday, you might have noticed some construction fences that weren’t previously there, as Phase II of Panama City’s streetscape project officially got underway.
“We love being downtown. We have a lot of regulars that come every day, sometimes twice a day. We love seeing our familiar faces on a regular basis and being part of our community,” said Kim Stiegler, owner of The Place Downtown.
The Streetscape project aims to upgrade portions of downtown by adding wider sidewalks and oak trees, improving underground utilities and stormwater systems, and more.
Phase I of the project was completed last fall.
“I think that people have already showed that they enjoy the extra space, being able to walk, the new beautification downtown. I’m being positive about it that it’ll be something a lot more inviting for our customers,” said Pam Armstrong, owner of Tom’s Famous Hot Dogs.
The fences went back up on Thursday. Officials say that Phase II will be broken up into multiple segments, with the entire phase aimed to be complete by November 2025.
“It’s just gonna make for a vibrant and fun downtown,” said Liane Harding, owner of Main Street Antiques.
The fences went up from 4th Street through 5th Street, completely blocking off that section of the road on Harrison Avenue. City officials tell NewsChannel 7 that this first portion of Phase II will take roughly six months to complete.
The front doors will still be open, however, restaurant and business owners said they hope the closed road doesn’t stop customers from coming in. They’re asking their patrons to enter their businesses from the back of their stores.
“I believe that it will affect us, people prefer to be parking in the front, entering in the front doors. It’ll be a change, it’ll be something new for everyone to do. I think they’ve already seen that in Phase One,” Armstrong said.
“We hope that customers will understand that it’s a bit of growing pains and keep coming in and supporting us during that time,” Harding said. “During this six months, of course, it’s going to be a little bit tougher for the small businesses that are down here. We are open, nothing has changed business-wise other than you can’t park right in front of the shop.”
“We’re encouraging everyone to enter from the back door so we can get this construction to go as fast as possible and be done with it,” said Armstrong.
Even though there won’t be front-of-store parking during the project, there are other options.
“There’s really great parking all down Grace Avenue, there’s blocks of parking lots. And then on Luverne Avenue on the other side of the road,” said Harding.
Owners are hoping the short-term hindrance pays long-term dividends.
“I’m really excited about the Streetscape. It’s just unbelievable how the whole feel of downtown has changed since the few blocks that have been completed,” Harding said. “Please keep supporting your small businesses. If you love us, keep coming down during this time.”
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