PANAMA CITY BEACH — A new 400,000-square-foot shopping center is coming to Back Beach Road, another sign developers think the beach economy is on the upswing.
The new development, calling itself Pier Park North, will be on about 60 acres on the north side of Back Beach Road directly across from the Pier Park shopping village, city officials said.
Panama City Beach building and planning director Mel Leonard said developer Glimcher Development Corp. considers itself a direct competitor with Pier Park owner Simon Property Group, despite the similarity of the two centers’ names.
Leonard said Glimcher submitted conceptual plans for the site four years ago, along with store names such as The Fresh Market and Men’s Wearhouse, but the project was delayed because of the weak economy.
The specific stores and their number still remain in flux, he cautioned, but the company “will make a big announcement” with definite names as soon as leases have been signed for 50 percent of the space, which will include a large anchor store.
“Some of the stores (in the first plans) may no longer be coming,” Leonard said. “They (Glimcher) originally listed those stores so we could get a feel for what they were shooting for.”
The development, which will not extend as deeply north-south as the 1 million-square-foot Pier Park, will stretch from roughly Pier Park Drive east to Powell Adams Road, with “four or five buildings” fronting Back Beach Road, Leonard said.
The architecture and landscaping of the complex, which the developer hopes to open by spring 2013, will be similar to Pier Park. Leonard said city officials are reviewing the latest plans now and construction could begin as early as spring 2012.
St. Joe Co., which owns the land under the new shopping center, will partner with Glimcher in the project, Leonard said. St. Joe also owned the land under the Pier Park shopping village before selling to Simon.
The new shopping center is the latest in a series of business announcements along Back Beach Road (U.S. 98) in Panama City Beach, including a new Walmart, Harley-Davidson, Whataburger and others.
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