Page 46 - Panama City Living May/June 2019

REGROWING
MEXICO BEACH
The El Governor Motel before Hurricane Michael
The family devoted themselves to their new community. As the years passed, shops, churches, start-up businesses, and family residences cropped up, and the city flourished but retained a relatively unknown presence in the Florida panhandle. The town’s residents have never been concerned with increasing tourism. Instead, Mexico Beach is known for being simple yet gorgeous, and it is loved for being just that.
With most of the homes washed away, leaving mere slabs of flat concrete surrounded by tattered furniture, splintered wood, and debris, the community was upended by the hurricane and made national headlines. Never in any of the townspeople’s lives had their home been so heavily impacted by a storm. The ravaged city was flanked by media and nationwide support. FEMA has continuously aided the area, and volunteers have made it their mission to help the city and its people recover.
But most of the homes belong to people who do not reside in the coastal town year-round, which brings its own challenges for the rebuilding process. To put things in perspective, Mayor Cathey explains, “It’s rather eye-opening: 75 percent of our residential properties are non- homesteaded ... which tells me that they're most likely in the rental program ... they are what supports our economy. So, the rebuilding process with that many second homeowners, I think it's going to get drawn out because it's not their primary address. And the other side of that is that over 82 percent of our city budget is made up of ad valorem taxes. So, when your tax base takes a hit, which obviously it will, we're going to have some real dilemmas to try to find a workable budget. We only have 38 employees.”
“ ... our guests want to know when they’ll be able to come back ... they want to make reservations— they’re ready before we’re ready.
Much has changed since the day Mayor Cathey made those phone calls on Villafranca’s satellite phone. Well-known and beloved businesses like Toucan’s Bar and Grill, and the Driftwood Inn, were destroyed in the storm, but have announced that they will rebuild, alongside several others. The El Governor Motel, a Mexico Beach landmark, is undergoing reconstruction.
Power, water, and sewage have been restored to most homes on the north side of US Highway 98. But the homes closest to the Gulf do not yet have utilities as of March 2019. Water and sewer restoration are currently underway.
The desolate pictures and videos of Mexico Beach flashing during TV newscasts and online are becoming a distant memory as cleanup has drastically changed the landscape of the city.
The St. Joe Company, Northwest Florida’s biggest land-and- development company, has announced plans for the development of a village community by the end of 2019 and intends to have residences completed in 2020. The corporation held two open houses in March 2019, sharing preliminary plans and gathering feedback from locals.
“The Mexico Beach Village community is planned as a mixed-use neighborhood village with different types of modestly sized homes and smaller-scale retail shops consistent with the mom-and-pop businesses Mexico Beach is known for,” explains Mike Kerrigan, spokesperson for the St. Joe Company. “Our vision includes single-family homes, townhomes, and garden apartments at market prices and rents that are achievable for the workers and residents of Mexico Beach and the airmen and families of Tyndall Air Force Base.”
46 • May–June 2019 • www.PanamaCityLiving.com