PANAMA CITY BEACH, Fla. A local business is shutting down just over a year after opening. NewsChannel 7 is told the state is taking over KOA Holiday Campgrounds in Panama City Beach as part of a traffic relief project. But the move is leaving business owners frustrated and uncertain about what comes next. “It took years to develop this park, I mean years, there’s a lot to go through as a small business owner,” said Malanda Schmitz, the owner and operator of KOA Holiday Campground. For Schmitz and her family, the campground is more than just an RV park; it’s been home since opening its doors in January 2024. But now, the Florida Department of Transportation has purchased the property through its power of eminent domain for the continuation of the U.S. Highway 98 expansion project. Officials said they will use the land to widen the road from four to six lanes, as part of the third and final segment of the project. FDOT officials tell us this will reduce congestion and improve safety along Highway 98. The design is complete, and construction will begin next year. The KOA Campground will be allowed to continue operations through July 15th. “The one thing the Department of Transportation does not want to do is to hinder businesses in any region, so that’s part of what we do in our agency, we work with these business owners so they can continue to operate and find new locations, to assist them with that as well,” said Ian Satter, spokesperson for the Florida Department of Transportation. KOA’s owner says they are still figuring out their next steps as the future of the campground is still unknown, and their hearts are broken. “We had really big plans for really being a resort one day, we had everything that we needed in our infrastructure built out to be a huge part of the community,” said Schmitz. “The hardest thing is that guests really love our park, we had reservations into December 2026, and I had to call and cancel.” Malanda says they are expecting dozens of guests for the upcoming holidays, such as Memorial Day weekend, the Gulf Coast Jam music festival, and the Fourth of July. She says they will provide the best experience to all their guests until their last day. “I hope that they can find another location that they love as much as ours because I want our guests to be happy, even after they’re gone, I still want them to be happy,” said Schmitz. The Florida Department of Transportation officials say all buildings on this property will be cleared beginning this summer as part of the expansion project.