"It's time to have a marina, and it's time to be able to put boats down there," Commissioner Robbie Hughes said on Oct. 13, according to WMBB's report on MyPanhandle. He was calling for a vote on the marina's long-delayed boat slips. Four days earlier, Hurricane Isaias had made landfall as a Category 2 storm near Destin on Friday night, WFLA reported. By that afternoon, the city had put concrete barricades across the public boat ramp at the Downtown Marina.
For anyone in The Cove who keeps a boat, two pieces of city infrastructure sit close together on the same stretch of bay. The Tarpon Dock Drawbridge on E. Beach Drive is the neighborhood's own crossing between The Cove and downtown. The Downtown Panama City Marina at 1 Harrison Ave. is the shared front door to St. Andrews Bay. The storm hit both, and they recovered very differently. The bridge needed electricity and was running again within days. The marina needs physical repairs, and its future slips just went back out to bid. Through the end of the year, the downtown waterfront will host concerts and parades rather than boat launches.
Three Days for the Bridge
The bridge's problem was simple. WJHG reported on Oct. 10 that the Tarpon Dock Drawbridge had lost power and couldn't lift for marine traffic, though cars could still cross. On Oct. 12, WJHG reported that the city had restored power and normal boat and vehicle traffic had resumed.
The City of Panama City's recovery update now lists the bridge under "BACK OPEN." It says the bridge "is now able to lift open for marine traffic to pass through" and "remains passable for vehicle traffic," with normal operations resumed. For boats moving between The Cove and downtown, and for anyone driving Beach Drive into town, that crossing is back to normal.
The same update shows how much cleanup is still under way across the city. Crews estimated that about 38 trees came down citywide. The city also says that in normal times, trash crews find a debris pile at every third or fourth home, and after this storm "nearly every household in the City has debris requiring collection." The city told residents to expect slower regular trash pickup "over the next couple of weeks." Its guidelines ask people to bag leaves and small debris, stack larger limbs neatly at the curb, and keep piles away from storm drains, sidewalks, hydrants and mailboxes.
If your home picked up storm damage, the city's update links to Bay County's damage assessment form. The city notes that filling it out does not request disaster funding or start an insurance claim. It helps officials decide what recovery supplies to request for the area.
The Ramp Has No Date
The Downtown Marina is a different problem. The city's recovery update says the boat ramp is "CLOSED until further notice due to both docks sustaining storm damage," that the Marina T-Dock is also closed, and asks people to stay away from the area.
Here is how that week went at the water's edge:
- Friday night, Oct. 9: Isaias makes landfall near Destin. WFLA reported powerful winds and storm surge along the northern Gulf Coast.
- Saturday, Oct. 10: The city closes the downtown ramp. WJHG reports that the ramp and T-Dock are shut and the drawbridge can't lift.
- Monday, Oct. 12: Power is back at the Tarpon Dock Drawbridge and it resumes normal operations.
- Tuesday, Oct. 13: The city installs heavy-duty concrete barricades at the ramp and posts an alert calling the area "unsafe for public use."
- Wednesday, Oct. 14: WJHG reports that the storm damaged the ramp stairs and the dock system, and that City Manager Jonathan Hayes said there was no repair timeline yet while crews gathered quotes.
The barricades were added for a reason. WMBB reported that some boaters were moving the original barriers and launching anyway. The city's alert addresses them directly: anyone who launched during the closure "must make alternative arrangements to retrieve their vessel from another boat ramp." Hayes told WMBB there was "some pretty significant damage," that safety comes first, and that the city is "moving just as quickly as we can to try to get it repaired."
Other public launches are on the city's list. Its facility page for Carl Gray Park, on Collegiate Drive just north of Gulf Coast State College, includes a boat launch ramp and parking. The city's page for St. Andrews Marina also lists a boat launch ramp. Neither page gives a post-storm status, so check before you tow a trailer across town, and look at the city's Alert Center first.
The Slips Went Back to Square One the Same Week
The ramp repair and the new boat slips are separate projects. Both are at the same address, and both stalled in the same week.
In late August, the slips seemed to be moving. WJHG reported on Aug. 26 that commissioners had approved a contract for the first 50 wet slips, in the basin closest to Hotel Indigo and Harrison's Restaurant, with electric, water and sewer hookups. The city first planned to pay for construction with part of its $150 million Truist Bank "Hurricane Loan." It then looked at an offer from Joe PC LLC, the St. Joe Company entity that operates Hotel Indigo and Harrison's, to prepay up to $5 million in future rent and cover construction costs without interest. That approval opened a 60-day window to negotiate a deal for St. Joe to manage the slips for up to five years. Construction was expected to start by December.
Then came the Oct. 13 vote. Art Marine LLC sued the city over its decision to award the $3.6 million construction contract to H.G. Harders and Son. After an executive session that morning, commissioners voted 3–2 to rebid the first phase, WMBB reported. The phase as described now covers 49 slips and more than 20,000 square feet of wooden docks. WMBB noted that the decision raises new questions about when construction will start.
| Late August 2026 | Mid-October 2026 | |
|---|---|---|
| First-phase slips | 50 wet slips approved, basin near Hotel Indigo and Harrison's | 49 slips and 20,000+ sq. ft. of wooden docks, rebid |
| Construction contract | Approved | $3.6M award to H.G. Harders and Son challenged by Art Marine LLC's lawsuit, rebid by 3–2 vote |
| Expected start | By December | No new date announced |
| Public ramp and T-Dock | Open | Closed until further notice after Isaias |
Hughes framed the vote with a deadline in mind: "by the end of July next year, it's time to make a tough decision." For a Cove boater, the near-term picture is simpler. Right now the downtown basin has no working public ramp, no T-Dock, and no new slips under construction.
The Lawn Still Has a Calendar
The marina property is more than its docks. With the water side closed, the dates still on the calendar are all on land, along the Harrison Avenue edge of the waterfront. The listings below are the organizers' posted schedules, so check with each organizer for post-storm updates before you go.
- Thursday, Oct. 22, Backstage Pass finale. Bay Arts Alliance's schedule lists Cat Ridgeway and the Tourists to close the free series on the Marina Lawn at 7 Harrison Ave. That's tonight, the day this post publishes.
- Nov. 6–7, Panama City Songwriters Festival. The festival uses downtown venues within walking distance of one another, and Destination Panama City gives 409 Harrison Ave. as its venue address.
- Saturday, Dec. 5, 6 p.m., Christmas Parade. The city's announcement has the parade starting at the Downtown Marina, 1 Harrison Ave., heading north on Harrison Avenue and ending at Tommy Oliver Stadium.
- Saturday, Dec. 12, 40th Boat Parade of Lights. Destination Panama City lists a Holiday Village at the marina from 4 to 7 p.m., a drone show at 5 p.m., and the parade from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. along the St. Andrews Bay shoreline.
The Boat Parade is the one date that depends on the water. Its route follows the St. Andrews Bay shoreline, and its Holiday Village is set at the marina. For people in The Cove, the reopened Tarpon Dock Drawbridge matters here too: it's the city's link between the neighborhood and downtown, it lifts for boats again, and cars can cross on Beach Drive.
Repair quotes for the ramp and a new round of bids for the slips will decide when the downtown basin works for boats again. For now, the city's recovery update page and its Alert Center are where it has been posting ramp and bridge status.
If you're in The Cove and wondering how the changes on the downtown waterfront fit your own plans, I'm happy to talk them through with you. Joshua Fowler | Let's Connect.
