LOCAL

Start planning your next fishing trip. Bay Point Marina to finally reopen in early 2022

Nathan Cobb
The News Herald

PANAMA CITY — For Daniel Fussell, marina project manager for the St. Joe Company, the Bay Point Marina is not only an important amenity for Bay County, but for the entire Southeast United States. 

With the sun beaming down and the sounds of power tools in the distance, St. Joe held a press conference Wednesday to discuss the progress it has made in rebuilding the marina, which was destroyed by Hurricane Michael and has remained closed since the Category 5 storm made landfall in October 2018. 

Daniel Fussell, marina project manager for the St. Joe Company, said he believes the Bay Point Marina is important for not only Bay County, but the entire Southeast United States.

"It brings folks to our area and allows us to show them what we have in our county (and) what we can do for them," Fussell said. "Having this marina open and having this marina functional is vital ... to the marine industry as a whole."

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He added that the marina, which is owned by St. Joe, is slated to reopen at the start of next year. The ongoing construction will cost about $10 million and will install 135 boat slips for boats up to 125 feet long. 

If everything goes according to plan, there will be a second phase of development at some point to add about 100 more boat slips, each designed for boats up to 150 feet long. 

Work continues on the Bay Point Marina after it was destroyed by Hurricane Michael almost three years ago.

"The 240 (total slips) are not permitted yet, (but) the (first) 135 are," Fussell said. "Provided the market is good and boats are still in the area ... we'll fill the first phase and then (begin) work on the second."

He noted the average boat that will dock at the marina costs $2 million to $5 million and spans 55 feet to 60 feet. 

"As of right now, if I had a 60-foot sport-fishing boat, I'd have nowhere (in Bay County) to put it. I'd have to go all the way to Destin or Pensacola," Fussell said. "By putting this marina here ... we now bring those boats back to our community, which obviously brings in fishing (and) brings in money."

St. Joe Company is spending about $10 million to rebuild the Bay Point Marina after it was destroyed by Hurricane Michael.

David Demarest, hospitality spokesman for St. Joe, said not having the marina open for almost three years is "a huge blow to everybody who enjoys being out on the water." 

Demarest, who agreed with Fussell that the marina is a vital part of the community, added that St. Joe is focused on restoring it to the first-class facility it once was. 

"I think a big part of the healing process for Bay County is going to be getting this marina back in play," he said. "St. Joe has a lot of projects going on right now that it cranked up speed on after Hurricane Michael because there was such a demand. I think as you see those projects come online, it's going to add new life and bring back that sense of wholeness to Bay County and to our region."