Today marked the culmination of ten years of planning for the city of port St. Joe and Gulf County.

The port St. Joe Port Authority and the St. Joe company agreed to a long term lease that will reopen the port that's been closed since the paper mill closed up shop in 1998.

Local officials gathered on the grounds of the old Maddox house to sign a lease between the St. Joe Company and the port St. Joe Port Authority that will reopen the seaport. The 41 year lease will help revive a once thriving seaport.

"We started seeing global shipping having a better and more forceful import as it moves off the west coast into the east coast and into the Gulf of Mexico. The expansion of the panama canal which is opening in 2014 will start to move product into the gulf and revitalize this port and make it an active and productive part of the economy."

The lease gives the port authority land to conduct shipping activity from what use to be the St. Joe Paper Mill.

"The significance is that we now will have the land that we need to engage in international shipping in port St. Joe once again, which it did 100 years ago or more. Be an active seaport."

Initially the port will be accepting shipments of road building materials for north Florida.

As time goes on more products will be shipped into the area.

"We’re going to be one of the primary import locations for bringing in the gravel needed to build those highways. It's going to be critical for safety, and jobs in this economy."

The port authority also signed a 3-year short term lease with the St. Joe Company for a 20 acre site that will allow the port to begin shipping while the larger site is being constructed.

The first shipments are expected to arrive in early 2009.