The Commodore is the 13-story tower at 4715 Thomas Drive, just past the spot where Thomas Drive bends at the Alvin's Island store and turns east toward the state park. It was finished in 1985 and holds 135 condos, from a 327-square-foot efficiency up to 1,404-square-foot three-bedrooms. Patches Pub is the next-door neighbor. Any Commodore unit on the market today shows up in the search results above. What follows is what I turned up when I went through the public records and the association's own pages.
View The Commodore Condos for Sale
Call or Text Roger: 850-596-5844
Weighing The Commodore against other Thomas Drive buildings? My guide to Panama City Beach condos for sale lays out every building I cover by area, with what to check on HOA fees, rental rules, insurance and SIRS.
Directly east is Sea Side Villas, a 72-unit condo at 4701 Thomas Drive that was recorded in 1973. Past it are the RV lots of Venture Out, and then Moonspinner, a quarter mile away along the sand. West and north of the Commodore, the lots belong to the old Treasure Island subdivision, including the one Patches sits on at 4723 Thomas. Across the road is the Panama City Beach RV Resort.
I ran driving routes from the Commodore's parking lot. Alvin's Island is 0.2 miles, Scampy's 0.4, and Treasure Island Resort a bit under half a mile. Schooners and Seychelles are each just over half a mile, Pirates Cove Marina is 0.6, and the St. Andrews State Park gate is about 1.1. Going west, Regency Towers is about 1.2 miles by road, Pelican Walk about 2.1, Pineapple Willy's 4.5, and Pier Park 11.6 miles, around 22 minutes with no traffic. For the wider area, see Lower Grand Lagoon homes and condos or other listings on Thomas Drive.
Each floor has ten units, numbered by stack from 01 to 10, and that accounts for 130 of the 135. MLS listings often add the type letter to the unit number, so 501A is stack 01, Type A, and 409B is a Type B. The square footage here comes from the county property appraiser.
Three-bedroom listings I've read describe wraparound balconies, and one one-bedroom listing points out that even its bedroom faces the Gulf. A couple of listings also mention a storage closet outside the unit.
Here's what the association's amenity page and today's rental listings show:
The state's pool inspection records list three permitted pools at the Commodore: the main pool, the wading pool and the spa. All three were marked satisfactory on January 29, 2026. The association's website also has a 3D walkthrough of the lobby if you'd like a look before a showing.
The association runs its own rental company, Commodore Owners Association Rentals, from an office just behind the security building (850-235-8383). On October 8, 2026, its nightly booking site had 36 units on it, and it was also advertising monthly snowbird stays for 2027. The site advertises stays as short as 2 nights, though its rental agreement says each unit may set its own minimum. The person renting has to be 25 or older unless a parent or guardian is staying. I couldn't find anything public on whether owners are free to hire a different manager, so ask the association.
Since the Commodore is outside city limits, Panama City Beach's rental registration doesn't reach it. Bay County's certificate program under Ordinance 23-18 covers buildings of one to four units, which leaves a 135-unit tower out of it for now. Renting nightly or weekly still requires a Florida DBPR transient lodging license, held by you or your manager, plus state sales tax and Bay's tourist development tax. Since October 1, 2026, you pay that tax to the county Tax Collector's office instead of the Clerk. I go into the details in my short-term rental post.
Pets. Rental guests can't bring pets, which the listings attribute to the HOA's rules. Service animals are welcome once a registration form is turned in ahead of the stay. I haven't found what the rules say about an owner's dog or cat in anything public, so get it in writing before you buy with a dog in mind.
Cars. A rental gets one parking pass for an efficiency or one-bedroom and two for a two- or three-bedroom. Extra cars go to paid off-site parking. Street parking and golf carts aren't allowed. From May 1 through July 31, boats, trailers and oversized vehicles are banned; the rest of the year a handful of motorcycle and boat-trailer spots are first come, first served.
Smoking. Guests can smoke or vape only in the paved parking lot or a designated spot, never on balconies or the pool deck.
Milestone and SIRS. The tower hit 30 in 2015, putting the deadline for its first milestone inspection at December 31, 2024. A records directory that tracks Florida associations shows no structural integrity reserve study on file for the Commodore and no milestone record. That doesn't prove they weren't done. It means you should ask for both reports, any repair schedule, and whether an assessment is coming. Bay County, not the city, issues permits here. For the law itself, read my milestone and SIRS explainer.
Dues. Commodore dues are billed quarterly. MLS listings name management, cable, internet, water, sewer, trash, the pools, security, plus legal and accounting, and some add grounds, pest control, building maintenance or insurance. Electricity isn't on any of them. Ask the association for this year's budget and the quarterly amount for the unit type you want.
Flood map. The lot falls on FEMA panels 12005C0319J and 12005C0338J, both effective October 24, 2024. The tower's footprint is in zone X. The Gulf side of the lot, including a small building there, is zone VE, where FEMA's flood height is 14 feet. Get an HO6 quote early and find out what flood coverage the master policy carries. I explain FEMA zones in my flood zone article for PCB and 30A.
Elevators. State records show two traction elevators from 1984 serving all 13 floors, with an operating certificate that ran through August 1, 2026. Ask to see the renewed one.
Your loan. Lenders look at the association's budget, insurance and rental activity before they'll approve a condo here, and a CC unit may raise extra questions because of its label on the roll. Talk to a lender early. This explains how warrantable and non-warrantable condos differ.
Everything else I check on any condo purchase, from estoppels to reserves, lives on my page about buying condos in PCB.
Most buyers know going in whether they want a Type A or D three-bedroom, a two-bedroom or a one-bedroom. Tell me the type and the floors you'd consider and I'll set up alerts that only send those. You can also open the Commodore map search on your own.
Commodore buyers ask about the unit type and floor, whether the association's rental company manages it, how much it brought in, and the status of the milestone report and SIRS. Gather your rental statements and a list of updates before we list. Find out what your condo is worth and I'll line it up against recent Commodore sales of the same type.
Close, but not next door. Sea Side Villas, Venture Out, Moonspinner and St. Andrews Park Place are between it and the park, and the park gate is about 1.1 miles by car.
A few. The four small privately owned units run 327 to 409 square feet.
No. Only service animals that were registered in advance.
No. It's in unincorporated Bay County.
X for the tower itself, and VE on the beach side of the lot.
Got a question about a particular unit? My cell is 850-596-5844, for calls or texts. This is Roger Rietsema; I've worked as a Realtor here since 2003, and my brokerage is Allison James Estates & Homes.
All of it was researched on October 8, 2026, using:
Dues, rules and rental terms change, so get current copies from the association.
