PANAMA CITY BEACH — Steps are underway to fix the safety problems that threaten a well-known business plaza at the Beach with demolition, Bay County officials say.
Located at 8776 Thomas Drive, the plaza was deemed unsafe and unfit by local officials on Oct. 28 after a Bay County building inspector visited the property and found not only water leaks, but that parts of the roof had collapsed.
The building houses such businesses as Show N Tail Gentlemen's Club, Pho Express Vietnamese Bistro, Heat Wave and Pizza.
According to Kathi Ashman, the county's code enforcement manager, her department held a hearing on Oct. 29 about the property. It was then that Ryan Hodges, the building's master lease holder and owner of Show n Tail, was given 30 days to hire an engineer and submit to the county a complete list of repairs needed to the building. If not, the county would demolish it.
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Ashman said Hodges confirmed on Nov. 3 that he hired an engineer.
"The structural engineer will now have to develop a scope of work to correct the structural issues," she said. "He then will have to submit that to the (county's) building department for plans review and permits."
Ashman also said that Pizza Hut is the only business in the building that had its certificate of occupancy revoked. The others were deemed unsafe and unfit, meaning people should enter at their own risk.
"Anyone who goes into the building needs to understand that there is a potential for a danger to their safety," she said.
Past reports state the building's failures were caused by numerous air conditioning units and other appliances that were installed on the roof over time without proper bracing or re-engineering. That caused areas of the roof to sink and collect water.
The initial inspection was sparked by an email from a local structural engineer to county officials that noted "some potentially dangerous conditions" to the roof during a structural consultation to Pizza Hut on Oct. 24.
According to Emma Tong, co-owner of Pho Express, she found out that the building was deemed unsafe through social media messages. At the time of the original inspection, her business was temporarily closed for other reasons.
In a phone interview Monday, with the chatter of customers in the background, Tong said that Pho Express was operating as normal despite the ongoing safety warning placed on the building.
"I'm kind of confused," she said. "I haven't heard from anybody ... so hopefully nothing is wrong with our side."
This article originally appeared on The News Herald: Panama City Beach Florida business plaza deemed unsafe to be fixed
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November 09, 2021 at 11:22PM
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