Getaway at Pier Park
By William E. Males
Last weekend was my first real opportunity to truly dive into Pier Park’s outdoor shopping mall extraordinaire. What a wonderfully designed project which translates to a unique shopping and dining experience. For a little back ground about myself, by trade I’m a building contractor who is often very critical of other projects. I tend to walk through places checking every detail out and thinking how things could have been designed better, layouts for better access to and from parking, color schemes, building designs - you name it and I tend to pick em’ all apart, thinking I can improve it. But after a full morning there and back later for a great afternoon lunch at Red Robin (great burgers), (out of curiosity I went back again that night to check out the Park's lighting and evening activities) I must say that Pier Park was one of those few places that truly left me impressed with a job done right.
Those behind this impressive shopping and entertainment center is the Simon Property Group, Inc., headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana. What you will read everywhere about Pier Park is that it is Simon’s "Signature Project." But just reading that falls way short of communicating exactly what is meant by that phase. As their “Signature Project,” Pier Park is certainly much more than a “Wow!” to the credit of its developers as this massive complex is bustling with life and activity while radiating with bright tropical colored store fronts, decorated walkways with beautiful landscaping, palm trees, endless array of stores, restaurants, attractions, activities and more . . . so much more.
Since I had to take care of a few things at first I was only able to be there for the morning, so I left my wife and family there for the day. Later, when I returned for a late lunch, they didn’t stop talking about how much they loved it. As we looked for a place to eat, I couldn’t help but notice just how clean and well maintained the Park was. While taking several pictures I happen to catch one of the many nearly invisible employees who must be constantly keeping the place clean. Funny, but with so much going on and things to look at, you really don’t notice the workforce employed there, though I did notice the security personal in the parking lots and other areas. But, what I found amusing was when reviewing the many pictures I had taken that evening I noticed a picture of another employee in the exact spot pushing the same kind of cart. No wonder this place is spotlessly clean!
In its brief time, Pier Park has proven itself to be a main destination for the Panama City market as well as a one stop entertainment center for those visiting the Emerald Coast. This place is so new that when I went to look at it on Google Earth it wasn’t even there in google photos yet! Still, this place is massive, approximately 1,100,000 square feet of open-air commerce utopia; a beautiful Shopping Park with bright festive colors splashed artistically on a suitable canvas of impressive Caribbean Architecture. Now, if you can’t imagine just how large of an area we’re talking about, imagine nearly twenty five football fields grouped together, full of unique dining options, boutiques, specialty stores and an array of entertainment choices. All this comfortably designed to work together with a relaxing park atmosphere. Walking along I overheard my wife and mother in law saying “Oh look, there’s . . .” whatever the name of the store was that they loved. Their biggest complaint was so many stores, so little time. I naturally check for my wallet.
Located in the heart of Panama City on Front Beach Road and Panama City Beach Parkway (Highway 98), Pier Park is ideally located to serve the area's growing residential community. It’s the perfect evening getaway for the family, or to take a date, with restaurants featuring rooftop dining with breathtaking views of the Gulf of Mexico. Just mentioning some of the restaurants at Pier Park are LongHorn Steakhouse, Back Porch Seafood House, Bootleg Barbeque and Guglielmo's Italian Restaurant. For the casual diner, new-to-market restaurants such as Hofbrau Beer Garden or Jimmy Buffett's Margaritaville, Reggae J’s to Guy Harvey’s Grill, complete with Harvey’s distinctive marine and island art and decoration, where you can even get those great tee shirts just like the one I am wearing even now.
You can literally park the car and walk to several different places at night with live music and entertainment. Or, cut across Front Beach Road for a bit of sea breeze on the pier while as you look up and down the coast at all the stars, city lights and watch the lights of the boats go by. There was even a gas fire place out front that served as an excellent conversation area and gathering place to watch the people as they mosey on by. It was a truly a great day and evening we spent walking through the park. I must admit those people at the Simon Project Group really did it up right when they did Pier Park as their Signature Project. As a contractor, my hard hat goes off to you guys.
