Beach town living at an easygoing pace
Homes all around Lower Grand Lagoon share a common denominator, one that’s a constant pull to the area. “I like it because you can walk to the beach,” says Marc Miller, a local realtor with RE/MAX By the Sea. “Pretty much anywhere in that Lower Grand Lagoon area, I’d say, you can walk to the beach pretty easily. Might be like an eight-minute walk, 10-minute walk, but not bad.” Combine that with less tourism hubbub than the heart of Panama City Beach to the west, and this community is one that’s attractive to locals, seasonal residents and short-term rental clients alike.
Outdoor fun by water or by land, from St. Andrews to the Gulf
Lower Grand Lagoon is like a peninsula, jetting out into the area waters. So not only are houses here just minutes from the beach on foot, but there are several public beach access points to choose from, facing the Gulf of Mexico on the neighborhood’s south side. So residents can step from their front doors and onto the region’s signature, sugary soft sand with relative ease. “I feel like nowhere else do you get that white sand, sugary sand. Like, you walk on it, it squeaks,” says Miller, who has been a realtor for over three years after working at Panama City’s Naval Surface Warfare Center. The sand provides a front-row seat to the Gulf’s emerald-green water. The neighborhood's north end is lined with myriad waterfront homes, along a sliver of the Grand Lagoon — many of them complete with docks out back. This side of Lower Grand Lagoon is also the home base to multiple fishing charter services and water tour boats that can take people out to see the sector’s immense bottlenose dolphin population.
The end of Lower Grand Lagoon is home to one of Florida’s most-visited state parks: St. Andrews State Park. This 1,200-acre expanse is popular for camping, and has a couple of half-mile hiking trails that double as spots for bird watching. St. Andrews is well-liked for snorkeling and surfing as well.
A medley of homes with a variety of uses
This area is mostly comprised of condos and traditional single-family houses, dotting a grid network of residential streets. There are a good bit of full-time residents here, but this neighborhood also provides a calmer alternative for visitors and part-time residents compared to the tourist hotspot of Panama City Beach proper. Panama City Beach attracts some 4.5 million visitors annually, including a surge in the summer months. “It’s about traffic. If you’re trying to avoid seasonal traffic, that’s the place to be,” says Sean Casilli, co-founder of The Real Experts Group at Coldwell Banker Realty and a realtor in the region for several years. There’s a fit for seemingly every preference in this area, too, from one-bedroom units in high-rise condo buildings facing the beach to towering detached homes with six or seven bedrooms. Also, the waterfront properties with docks offer boaters quicker access to the Gulf than a lot of other neighborhoods in this area, through the St. Andrews Pass. “That’s probably your closest option,” Casilli says.
Condo prices in Lower Grand Lagoon start around $200,000 for under 700 square feet, with one bedroom, and can reach roughly $2 million for a 3,000-square-foot unit on the beach. Traditional single-family homes here range from the mid-$300,000s for an option that may need some work to about $3 million for one of the residences with six to seven bedrooms.
Enjoy the local scene, with a seafood flair
One of the neighborhood’s signature events takes place each October at popular seafood restaurant Schooners: the Lobster Festival. Held over four days, the Lobster Festival includes everything from live music to lobster-themed food specials. “That seems to be something people get excited about when it comes around,” Casilli says. Locals can follow up the Lobster Festival with the Annual Grand Lagoon Bloody Mary & Music Festival in November at the Sheraton Panama City Beach Golf and Spa Resort in the neighboring Upper Grand Lagoon neighborhood. In this event, bars and restaurants from around the area battle for recognition of Best Bloody Mary in the Grand Lagoon.
Local haunts are right at home
Lower Grand Lagoon is predominantly residential, but this neighborhood — along with Upper Grand Lagoon — carries the most dense collection of locally owned bars and restaurants in the area. Schooners, home of the Lobster Festival, is one of the stalwarts of Lower Grand Lagoon, nicknamed the “Last Local Beach Club” here. Open from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. every day, Schooners is popular for its grouper and has regular live music performances, too. Patches Pub down the road is known for its Reuben sandwiches and is one of Miller’s favorites. “It’s always packed in there,” Miller says. “They’ve got live music in there and cheap food — good food, though.” Those eyeing a homecooked meal can stop by nearby spots like Treasure Island Seafood Market for fresh ingredients. There’s a Publix across Grand Lagoon Bridge in Upper Grand Lagoon, too.
Bay District schools boast a good reputation
The Bay District school system serves kids in Lower Grand Lagoon, a system with a B-plus overall grade on Niche. Students here start at the A-minus-rated Patronis Elementary, which benefits from an active PTO, one seen as the “heartbeat” of campus. B-rated Surfside Middle offers athletic programs with options ranging from a championship girls volleyball team to a football team. The area’s B-plus-rated J.R. Arnold High supports dedicated programs in topics like sports and entertainment marketing and culinary arts.
Traffic is easier to navigate
One of the benefits of Lower Grand Lagoon for locals is that there are essentially only two main lanes of traffic in and out, on Thomas Drive. Lower Grand Lagoon, in turn, features more of a secluded feel than the center of Panama City Beach, which has busier stretches like Panama City Beach Parkway coursing through it. Thomas Drive comes complete with multiple stops in the region’s Bayway bus system, too.
Written By
Wayne Epps Jr.
