Panama City's Downtown Marina rebid grows from 49 slips to a three-phase job: a new boat ramp, a 320-foot breakwater and more than 100 slips. What each phase holds.

Panama City’s next try at rebuilding the Downtown Marina is a bigger job than the first. The city’s revised bid package covers a new boat ramp, a 320-foot breakwater and more than 100 wet slips, built in three phases.

The original bid sought only 49 slips in the marina’s West Basin. The City Commission voted Oct. 13 to reject all bids for that job and start again with a new scope of work. That is according to a letter to the commission from Assistant City Attorney Michael S. Burke, dated Oct. 19.

The commission took up the revised scope at its meeting Tuesday. The city had not posted minutes recording the outcome by Wednesday afternoon.

What the three phases include

The draft specifications attached to the letter describe:

  • Phase 1: rebuild the existing boat ramp in the East Basin and build 49 wet slips on Docks C and D in the West Basin, about 21,343 square feet of wooden fixed dock with a sewer pump-out station. Construction should start within 90 days of the contract award.
  • Phase 2: a 320-foot extension of the West Basin breakwater, replacing the section destroyed by Hurricane Michael. The city expects to have the permits during Phase 1 and to order work within 90 days of receiving them.
  • Phase 3: Dock B, with 35 wet slips, and Dock A, a 430-foot floating dock for day and transient boats. This phase cannot start until the breakwater is finished, because the docks sit in an exposed position.

Dock B’s 35 slips break down as 20 slips of 40 feet, which are ready for future boat lifts, 14 lay-along slips of 30 feet and one 60-foot lay-along slip.

The plans show room for 20 boats of 20 feet along Dock A, the specifications say. The real number will depend on the size of the boats that tie up.

The specifications count 104 wet slips in all. The attorney’s covering letter gives the total as 99.

The rebuilt boat ramp

Phase 1 replaces the downtown boat ramp entirely. The specifications call for:

  • two ramps, each 20.5 feet wide and 55 feet long, with a rock apron
  • two 50-foot accessory docks
  • a 269-foot floating dock, reached by a fixed dock and a gangway

Who can bid

Bidders must show at least five years of marine construction experience, the letter says. They also have to list three to five similar projects finished in the last 10 years. The commission kept the qualifications from the first bid, and they are a material condition of the new one.

The winning bidder posts a bond for Phase 1 with its bid, and proof of bonds for Phases 2 and 3 before work on each begins.

Once the commission is satisfied with the scope, the letter says, staff will finish the bid package and advertise it “as soon as possible.” Bids go in through the city’s Bonfire portal.

In its State of the City release, the city described the first 50 slips in the western basin as “an initial step toward a larger marina redevelopment.” We covered that address in our State of the City story.

Also before the commission

  • West Beach Drive: staff asked the commission to award the West Beach Drive and Mulberry Avenue road project to Extreme Land Restoration for $2,344,112, the lowest of nine valid bids. The work covers West Beach Drive from Sixth Street to Fourth Street and Mulberry Avenue from Sixth Street to West Beach Drive. With a 10% contingency, the project total is $2,578,523.20, paid from federal hurricane recovery money (CDBG-DR) and the infrastructure sales tax.
  • Stormwater master plan: the commission voted 5-0 on Oct. 13 to accept an $800,000 state-funded grant for a citywide stormwater master plan, the draft minutes of that meeting show.

What it means for you

  • Boaters: the downtown ramp is in Phase 1, so it is among the first things rebuilt once a contractor is hired. Slips on Docks A and B wait for the breakwater.
  • Timing: nothing is under contract yet. The bid still has to be advertised, opened and awarded, and the 90-day start clock runs from the award.
  • Watch the agenda: contract awards go to the City Commission, which meets at 840 W. 11th St. Agendas are posted on the city’s Agenda Center the Wednesday before each meeting.

For work that affects roads now, see our road construction and closures page.

Frequently asked questions

What is in the new Downtown Panama City Marina bid?

Three phases: a rebuilt boat ramp in the East Basin and 49 wet slips in the West Basin, then a 320-foot breakwater extension, then Dock B with 35 slips and a 430-foot floating dock for day and transient boats.

Why is Panama City rebidding the marina slips?

The City Commission voted Oct. 13 to reject all bids for the original 49-slip job and rebid it with a new scope of work, according to a letter from the assistant city attorney.

When will marina construction start?

The bid package says Phase 1 construction should begin within 90 days of the contract award. The bid has not been advertised yet; staff will release it once the commission accepts the scope.