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Tag: pier park

  • Art in the Park

    Art in the Park

    By Lee Ann Leonard

    Pier Park’s latest area artist collaboration is just getting started. The mall selected local artist David Hansel to restore and reimagine the sea turtle fountains that grace its food court and the seat wall in front of Auntie Anne’s. The Pier Park team charged the artist with painting each of the four concrete turtles in a different theme and color scheme. The team also asked Hansel to transform the seat wall by painting it with a mural that would tie in with the turtles and the center’s other sea life-themed installations. Those installations include the complex’s history-making and award-winning breezeway mural featuring marine life and the seahorse statue that was part of the City of Panama City Beach’s SeeLife 2 public art project.

    David HanselWith the theme in mind, Pier Park identified the perfect community partner to bring this aquatic art to life—the Gulf World Marine Institute. The institute is partially funding the transformation, and its contribution will be lauded on the five bronze plaques surrounding the creations. Additionally, the mall team will donate coins collected from the turtle fountains to the marine mammal and sea turtle rescue and rehabilitation nonprofit.

    “We’re excited to be involved in an effort that supports local art and enables us to continue our mission to educate the public about marine life and the importance of protecting it,” commented Gulf World Marine Institute Board Vice President Pam George.

    David Hansel PaintingPier Park management selected Panama City artist David Hansel for the project after seeing his work on the Gulf Place Community Area concrete turtles and the undersea mural recently completed for Splash Resort. Hansel, a self-taught artist, is known for his vivid colors and beach themes. The award winner has painted everything from guitars to surfboards and enjoys teaching tie-dye workshops. To learn more about Hansel and his work, visit https://www.davidjhansel.com/.

    The center expects the projects to be completed by late October. You can follow the project’s progress on Facebook (/ShopPierPark) and Instagram (@PierPark).

  • Massive Pier Park Expansion Eyed

    Massive Pier Park Expansion Eyed

    By Ed Offley

    Developer St. Joe Co. has set the stage for a near-doubling of Pier Park that will include a mixture of retail, dining and entertainment businesses on a 70-acre site east of the existing business district.

    Labeled “Pier Park City Center,” the expansion will fit into an 83-acre “L”-shaped tract between Powell Adams Road and Hills Road, and U.S. 98 and Front Beach Road. The new district is located to the east and south of the Walmart Supercenter at 15495 Panama City Beach Parkway. Land clearing has been underway since July.

    Pier Park ExpansionThat is just slightly smaller than the sixteen-year-old Pier Park, which lies on a 110-acre tract west of Powell Adams.

    An initial element of the project already under construction is the 38,000-square-foot Topgolf driving range and entertainment facility, on a 12-acre plot immediately south of Walmart. When finished in the summer of 2025, Topgulf will include a two-level golf driving range, restaurant and meeting spaces. It will feature 74 hitting bays, and a miniature golf course.

    “The St. Joe Company plans to develop the remaining portion of the property with a mix of uses,” said St. Joe spokesman Mike Kerrigan, “primarily entertainment, dining and retail businesses that will compliment what already exists in the Pier Park shopping and entertainment district.”

    Kerrigan said St. Joe has “the potential” to include vacation lodging and multi-family housing in the expansion. The master development map compiled by the PCB Utility Department shows that Pier Park City Center plans include a 250-room hotel and 200 multi-family units in addition to 195,000 square feet of commercial development.

    Details of specific commercial properties eyed for the development, and a timetable for construction, are not available at this time, Kerrigan said. The company’s current focus is on developing the necessary road network and storm drainage infrastructure.

    “It is a priority, however, of The St. Joe Company to attract new tenants that will be additive to the area and the surrounding businesses,” the spokesman said. “As we secure future tenants, we will build out the space to accommodate them.”

    The new commercial district is expected to provide a major boost to city tax revenues.

    Topgolf will create about 300 jobs and generate approximately $750,000 in annual tax revenues, according to Topgolf representative Todd Waldo.

    In another sign of development in that part of Panama City Beach, construction is set to begin on a 230-unit apartment complex on Hills Road just north of Front Beach Road. The Seahaven Apartments will consist of a triangular, three-story building surrounding a swimming pool and common area.

  • Shop Talk: Halloween is Better by the Beach

    Shop Talk: Halloween is Better by the Beach

    By Lee Ann Leonard

    Pier Park Halloween GirlThis October, discover why Halloween is better by the beach!

    Pier Park will again help locals and visitors in need by hosting its annual “Halloween Costume Drive.” The Pier Park team will collect new and gently-used costumes at the Mall Management Office at 600 Pier Park Drive, Suite 125, Panama City Beach, FL 32413.

    Halloween costume donors can drop off items any weekday from October 1 to 25 between 8:30 a.m. and 5 p.m. They can donate costumes for adults and children in all sizes. Starting October 28, guests can browse the donations to find their favorite scarewear while supplies last. The costume bank will be open during that same window.

    Pier Park Boo By The Beach 2023On Halloween, from 4 to 7 p.m., “boos and ghouls” can go store-to-store collecting treats in Pier Park’s open-air, family-friendly environment. During “Boo by the Beach,” they can also pose in front of the mall’s Halloween-themed backdrop plus interact with colorful characters and a stilt-walking balloon artist. This year, enjoy scary store entrances as Pier Park retailers compete to create the spookiest storefront.

    Driving up the fear factor is the center’s haunted attraction, Fear at The Pier! The 1,000-foot spooky maze dares explorers to escape animatronic monsters, mutants and maniacs.

    To learn more about this and other October events, visit the Pier Park website’s events page: https://bit.ly/3YPOP25 or call (850) 236-9962.

  • Ring in the New Year with the Annual New Year’s Eve Beach Ball Drop

    Ring in the New Year with the Annual New Year’s Eve Beach Ball Drop

    New Year's Eve Panama City Beach Pier Park Beach Ball DropVisit Panama City Beach invites visitors and residents of all ages to ring in the new year Real. Fun. Beach. style at the annual New Year’s Eve Beach Ball Drop presented by Coca-Cola. Attracting thousands of visitors to the destination, the December 31 celebration is one of Panama City Beach’s most highly anticipated events of the year, featuring live music, entertainment and not one, but two beach ball drops – both accompanied by spectacular fireworks displays on the streets of Pier Park.

    “Each year, New Year’s Eve Beach Ball Drop brings together residents and visitors in Panama City Beach for an unforgettable, family-friendly celebration,” says Visit Panama City Beach President and CEO Dan Rowe. “We are thrilled to continue this wonderful event and look forward to hosting the most exciting and unique countdown to 2024 on the Gulf Coast.”

    New Year's Eve Panama City Beach Pier Park Beach Ball DropThe celebration begins with free live music on the concert stage in front of the Celebration Tower, as the streets of Pier Park are closed off to traffic for thousands of revelers to delight in free entertainment, fireworks, and good cheer throughout the night. Families with young children can enjoy the first countdown of the evening at 8:00 p.m., which includes fireworks and the release of 10,000 inflatable beach balls from nets stretched over the crowds at Pier Park.

    On the way to midnight, bands perform for the gathering crowd, anticipating the countdown to 2024 and the lowering of a giant LED-lit beach ball on Panama City Beach’s Celebration Tower in the center of Pier Park. Standing over 80 feet tall, this tower is ten feet taller than the pole on One Times Square in Manhattan and can be seen from Russell-Fields Pier, where the second round of fireworks will be launched over the Gulf of Mexico and the “World’s Most Beautiful Beaches.”

    Throughout the night, visitors can enjoy food vendors, games, activities and musical performances by Saved by the 90s, Will Thompson Band and The Life Atlantic. Please see below for a full schedule of events.

    Sunday, December 31, 2023 Lineup:

    • Family Fun Activities begin and Saved by the 90s performs at 5:35 p.m.
    • Kids’ Beach Ball Drop at 8 p.m.
    • Will Thompson Band performs at 8:20 p.m.
    • The Life Atlantic performs at 10 p.m.
    • Fireworks and Beach Ball Drop from Celebration Tower at Midnight

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