Panama City leaders are moving forward with a new strategy to improve neighborhood roads while making the most of redevelopment funding.
The Panama City Community Redevelopment Agency board approved an agreement with the city that will allow smaller road resurfacing projects to be handled in-house. Officials say the approach will help stretch redevelopment dollars further and allow the city to address neighborhood streets more efficiently.
By using city crews for smaller, standalone road projects instead of large outside contractors, the city expects to reduce costs and speed up repairs. Larger contractors will still handle major neighborhood projects, while city crews focus on resurfacing roads that only require improvements to the top layer.
The plan is supported by CRA funding and is part of a broader, multi-year effort to improve residential streets. Under the agreement, the CRA will provide $450,000 annually for five years for road work in the Millville district and $250,000 annually for five years for projects in the Downtown North district.
Several streets have already been identified for the first year of improvements, including Bay Avenue, 4th Street, Wilson Avenue, East 16th Street, Williams Avenue and Satsuma.
Additional roadway improvements are planned in the St. Andrews district, where nearly two miles of roads will be upgraded starting in fiscal year 2027 with $250,000 per year in CRA funding over four years.
Altogether, the roadway work across the three CRA districts represents about $4.5 million in long-term investment aimed at improving neighborhood infrastructure and enhancing the quality of life for residents.