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St. Joe Hospitality is asking for community input to name new restaurant in Downtown Marina District

With more 250 people in attendance, the St. Joe Company hosted the groundbreaking ceremony for Hotel Indigo, a more than $30 million development that will boast 124 rooms, a stand-alone restaurant, sky bar and space for business meetings and outdoor events.

“There’s a lot of opportunities here. It’s easy to turn a dollar into ten. Also, there are mutually reinforcing state, federal, and local policies,” said Shay Hawkins who was on the tax counsel for U.S. Senator Tim Scott from South Carolina, the office that came up with the idea for opportunity zones.

“This is the domino effect that you typically see in opportunity zones or the lands continuous with that opportunity zone will also see new life breathed into it and so what ultimately happens is one investment leads to another,” said South Carolina Senator Tim Scott

“Between the free-standing restaurant and the hotel, there is a public green space that will be open for everyone to use, and that will be a fantastic amenity for downtown,” Czarnecki said.

He said construction on the restaurant could begin as early as next month and they will start the hotel shortly after.

Hotel Indigo is a part of a family of hotel brands from IHG® (InterContinental Hotels Group), one of the world’s leading hotel companies. Hotel Indigo properties are designed to be as individual as their surroundings and reflect the local culture, meaning that no two properties are alike. Each hotel is part of the pulse and the rhythm of a place, drawing on the unique story of its local area to inspire every aspect of the hotel, from intriguing design to distinctive local ingredients on menus.

“We take that feedback and incorporate it into our planning process for the next open house we show more information, more concepts, more detail, get more feedback,” said President/ CEO of St. Joe, Jorge Gonzalez.

“Goal is a $20 million world-class hotel and restaurant that will serve as an anchor for redevelopment of the downtown core”

“Wednesday evening at the Panama City Center for the Arts in downtown Panama City, the St. Joe Company hosted its second open house concerning the new Panama City Marina hotel and many locals believe it will bring more money and new visitors to the area.”

“The St. Joe Company hosted their second open house meeting at the Panama City Center for the Arts where residents were welcome to give their input and ideas regarding the company’s proposal to construct a hotel on the city’s marina property.

The hotel will be fully funded by the St.Joe Company and they noted that the most important aspect of the project would be drawing people to come to the downtown area.”

"We want the downtown to be successful. So if we can help in any way by creating a spark for the downtown to get positive trajectory we're very willing to do that," said St. Joe Company CEO Jorge Gonzalez.

“We want to create something that is in character. We want it to fit,” Gonzales said.

The hotel still is in the early, early stages, he said. There are no artist renderings yet or schematics of what the hotel will look like beyond the information already submitted to Panama City officials that the hotel will be no more than five stories high, will include a restaurant, have about 100 rooms, and be located near the base of the Panama City Marina.

By early 2020 work could start on a hotel at Panama City Marina under a non-binding memorandum of understanding (MOU) the Panama City Commission will consider at their Tuesday meeting.

“When positive things happen in an area, positive things happen with us so we are strong believers a rising tide lifts all boats,” Gonzalez wrote. “A healthy vibrant downtown with an ecosystem of workers, residents, shoppers, and guests is an important components of the rising tide of a community.”