PANAMA CITY — The old airport site is a desert of development right now, with a newly opened school surrounded by large patches of yellow dirt.
Developer St. Andrew Bay Land Co. said that should change soon, as it hopes to begin building homes in the 700-acre SweetBay development in the next two weeks.
Developer Jacob Fish said SweetBay will build nine model homes just south of University Academy Charter School. They will be built before other properties are available for sale.
St. Andrew Bay Land Co. has completed 32 open lots, with utilities waiting for connection and 100 more in the first phase of the project.
SweetBay is laid out in seven sections over the 700 acres, and the subsequent phases of development depend on the market interest for homes. But so far there has been a bevy of interest, similar to Whispering Dunes or Breakfast Point on Panama City Beach, marketing representative Holly Pituch said.
The interest mostly has been from families who want to live within walking distance of University Academy Charter School, which was finished in August as the first part of the development’s Phase I. St. Andrew Bay Land wants to solicit interest from a variety of homebuyers, including retirees and single professionals.
Many people ask about the trail that extends from a proposed marina to the south street section of SweetBay, where much of the commercial space is planned. Others ask about access to the water, according to Pituch.
“Our goal is to drive the value from the water inland,” Fish said of keeping development off the water. “Everybody gets the benefit of 5 miles of bayfront.”
He said the entire development will take at least 15 years. The waterfront sections could be the last pieces to be completed.
“It took us six months just to get dirt moved around,” Fish said.
There also will be parks. Phase I of the development, called Academy Park, will have three. Fish said SweetBay will have a total of 100 acres of green space.
The company has just finished the landing page for its website, sweetbayfl.com, which answers some frequently asked questions from interested homebuyers. Eventually, the site will allow people to sign up and show plans when they are made available.
“SweetBay is one of the largest projects to ever have been approved in Panama City,” Commissioner Mike Nichols said. “It’s good for Panama City.”