CRA board discusses Sankofa grocery plan for MLK & 15th, property disposition and tools to spur affordable housing

The Panama City Community Redevelopment Agency met July 16 in a virtual workshop to review a proposal from the Sankofa Group for a full‑service grocery at the intersection of Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard and 15th Street and to discuss a broader plan to transfer and activate city‑owned property for housing and small business development.

The CRA has been pursuing redevelopment for the MLK/15th corner for about 20 years, and the board on April 15 voted 5‑0 to begin negotiations with Sankofa after the group presented a concept that includes a full‑service grocer, 62 rental apartments and 20 townhomes, CRA board member Janice Lucas said. “This redevelopment project has been in the making for 20 years,” Lucas told colleagues during the workshop.

The proposal is still under negotiation, CRA staff said. The developer met with about 60 community members on June 5; attendees raised affordability concerns after the developer gave a rental range of about $1,100 to $1,300 per unit. Lucas and other commissioners stressed that affordability, walkability and community input must be part of the final deal. “My focus is on negotiating for the community…a full service grocery store, affordable housing, real economic development opportunities,” Lucas said.

Discussion points and context - Planning history: Commissioners and staff traced the MLK/15th effort through prior plans (including a post‑Hurricane Michael Dover plan and a 2004 steering‑committee study) and a May 2024 Retail Strategies engagement to attract retail and mixed‑use development. - Competing proposals: CRA staff said an earlier…