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Commission seeks CRA and DIB support to stabilize historic Panama City grammar school, directs staff to draft preservation ordinance
Summary
The commission asked the Downtown Improvement Board and the CRA to consider financing to stabilize the historic Panama City grammar school and directed staff to draft a local historic‑preservation ordinance, voting 5–0 on both motions.
Panama City commissioners on Sept. 9 voted unanimously to ask the Downtown Improvement Board and the Community Redevelopment Agency to consider financing or partnership to stabilize and preserve the historic Panama City grammar school (a downtown masonry building the commission was told has been deteriorating and exposed to trespass) and to authorize staff to explore loan mechanisms that would be secured by a lien on the property.
Staff and commissioners described the structure as a significant historic resource that has been the subject of magistrate orders since mid-2023; the most recent magistrate order required either rehabilitation within a specified period or demolition at the property owner’s cost. Staff told the commission the owner did not complete rehabilitation and the magistrate found noncompliance, which restarted code-enforcement fines.
Commissioner discussion emphasized that the building is a “gateway” property and that the city has limited time to prevent demolition by neglect. The commission voted to send a letter requesting CRA and DIB support, and asked staff to pursue a financing structure that could be secured by a lien and repaid through a special assessment or other mechanism; commissioners also stressed the need to coordinate with the property owner, who earlier indicated an intent to rehabilitate the building and pursue apartments.
After that motion passed, the commission voted 5–0 to direct staff to draft a historic‑preservation ordinance defining how the city would identify and protect buildings of local significance and to present the draft for public review. Commissioners asked staff to evaluate legal consequences (e.g., property‑value impacts) and to propose a geographically targeted approach for any preservation overlay or regulation.
The motions direct staff to coordinate with the DIB and CRA boards and to return with implementation options and estimated costs for stabilization or mitigation work, including whether interest and other financing costs would be recoverable under the proposed mechanism.
