Panama City hires consultant to help secure funding for MLK Rec Center, Martin Theatre

Nathan Cobb, Panama City News Herald
·2 min read

PANAMA CITY − Local officials hope to use new funding sources move two massive projects across the finish line.

In a meeting on Tuesday, Panama City commissioners voted to hire consultants who will help the city secure more funding for two "high-priority projects": the construction of a new Martin Luther King, Jr. Recreation Center and the renovation of Martin Theatre.

Both stem from damages caused by Category 5 Hurricane Michael, which hit the Panhandle on Oct. 10, 2018.

A rendering of the new Martin Luther King, Jr. Recreation Center that will be built in place of the old center that was destroyed in 2018 by Category 5 Hurricane Michael. Officials this week voted to hire consultants to help the city secure more funding for the project.
A rendering of the new Martin Luther King, Jr. Recreation Center that will be built in place of the old center that was destroyed in 2018 by Category 5 Hurricane Michael. Officials this week voted to hire consultants to help the city secure more funding for the project.

"The professionals we hired yesterday will pursue new market tax credits funding," Commissioner Janice Lucas said. "It's a funding mechanism created in 2000 to direct private funding money to under-served, low- to moderate-income projects in municipalities and other government districts."

According to information from the city, both projects are eligible to have up to 20% of their costs covered by new market tax credits funding.

According to Lucas, the MLK Rec Center project is anticipated to cost about $20 million, and the Martin Theatre project is anticipated to cost more than $30 million.

"We would certainly be looking to get the maximum available to us," she said.

The original MLK Rec Center, which sat at 705 E 14th Court, was destroyed by Hurricane Michael. Its remains have since been demolished and a new, upgraded center is slated to be built in its place. Martin Theatre, at 409 Harrison Ave. in Downtown Panama City, was significantly damaged by the storm. It has since been gutted and sits ready to be restored.

Construction of the new MLK Rec Center is anticipated to break ground toward the beginning of 2024, with work on the Martin Theatre then beginning sometime later that year.

Making amends: Panama City announces 10 of 11 homes illegally purchased by Michael Johnson have closed

Lucas said both projects will vastly improve the city and fill voids left five years ago by Hurricane Michael. She also said she thinks they will be the start of a wave of storm-related construction that will revolutionize Panama City.

"It's been a long time coming, as we just noted five years have passed since Hurricane Michael," Lucas said. "It would seem to some that it's been too long and we haven't done enough. What we were told as a community by others who have been hit by Cat 5 storms (is) that coming back from that type of devastation can be a seven- to 10-year ordeal.

"We'll see exponential growth over the next two to five years, as we fulfill these projects."

This article originally appeared on The News Herald: Panama City hires consultants to fund MLK Rec Center, Martin Theatre