Cabana Motel to become Cabana Mall

PANAMA CITY — A St. Andrews motel is getting a makeover.
After sitting empty for five years, a portion of the Cabana Motel on Beck Avenue is being transformed into the Cabana Mall, a boutique-style shopping center targeting local artisans and specialty shops.
Originally built in 1960, the property is owned by William Loren Smith, who owns the nearby Shrimp Boat restaurant complex and several other surrounding parcels.
Shrimp Boat general manager Eddie Batt described Smith’s vision for the Cabana Mall as “eclectic and quirky.”
“We’ve started renovating a whole bunch of rooms,” Batt said Wednesday. “We’re looking to open it up in the next couple of weeks, take the fence down on the right-hand side and open it up to some shops.”
With about 30 spaces to work, Karen Newberry, who is conducting the leasing operations for the center, said the goal is to target stores that have a flair similar to the atmosphere of the bayfront community.
“We are looking for the unique, more boutique shops,” Newberry said. “Someone that makes their own products, whether it’s jewelry, art ... or a specialty candy store.”
Newberry said the St. Andrews area serves as a pass-through for many in Bay County, making it a convenient place to stop on the way home from work.
“Hopefully this will catch people’s eye,” she said. “If there’s a specialty bakery or if you need a gift for somebody, you can stop. You don’t have to go to the mall or to Pier Park.”
Batt said the renovation process actually began about two years ago but was postponed by other projects, including the development of the new lounge, Lowe’s House of Bourbon, upstairs in the Shrimp Boat building.
The final vision for the motel property is to establish the Cabana Mall on one side and a boutique hotel on the other, he said, and help St. Andrews become its own destination within Bay County.
“The more businesses that come down to St. Andrews, the more of an attraction it’s going to be,” Batt said, adding that visitor traffic was on an uptick in the area this summer. “We want to see St. Andrews continue to flourish and prosper.”
Even when Smith’s properties were facing foreclosure earlier this year, Batt said he never lost sight of his vision to improve the St. Andrews community. Smith has since filed Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization to halt the foreclosure process and keep his restaurants open.
“We’re working day to day,” Batt said. “We’re going to keep on doing what we’re doing.”