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Agency official: Panama City short more than 3,000 workforce housing units
Summary
An agency official said Panama City faces a shortage of more than 3,000 housing units affordable to working families and is convening round tables with developers, lenders and nonprofits to pursue policy reviews, incentives and partnerships.
PANAMA CITY — An agency official said Panama City is building new housing but still falls short of providing homes affordable to working families, estimating a gap of more than 3,000 units.
“We're not building enough housing that working people can actually afford,” the agency official said, adding that the shortage affects teachers, nurses, first responders and service workers who struggle to find homes near their jobs.
The official said the city has begun bringing together developers, lenders, nonprofits and community leaders through housing round tables to explore solutions. “The City recognizes this challenge and is addressing it by bringing together developers, lenders, nonprofits, and community leaders through housing round tables,” the official said.
City leaders described affordability as a complex problem driven by construction and infrastructure costs, land availability and regulations, and said the private market alone is not meeting demand. “What we're learning is that affordability is complex driven by costs, infrastructure, land and regulations, and the private market alone just isn't meeting the need,” the official said.
Officials outlined next steps including reviewing local policies, exploring incentives and strengthening partnerships to support workforce housing. “That's why we're focused on practical solutions and partnerships to move us forward, like reviewing policies, exploring incentives and building strong partnerships to support workforce housing,” the official said.
The statement did not specify timelines, funding sources or particular incentive programs; city officials characterized the effort as a planning and coordination phase aimed at increasing units affordable to working families. The city estimated a shortage of about 3,000 units but did not provide the underlying study or data during this statement.
The city described affordable housing as “one of our biggest challenges,” and said it hopes collaboration will produce meaningful progress but did not announce any formal proposals or votes at this time.
