Private funding can make amazing things happen around Bradenton

Who would have thought that Bentonville, Ark., would become a destination for visitors interested in American art or students pursuing culinary arts? But that’s exactly what’s happening in the once-sleepy town that is home to Walmart’s corporate headquarters.

I visited Bentonville last month to meet with economic development colleagues to discuss trends in community place-making and other strategies for diversifying local economies. What I saw in Bentonville validated initiatives in the Bradenton area’s strategic plan for economic development and presented exciting examples of how private funding can make amazing things happen.

The project most closely aligned with our work in Manatee County was Bentonville’s focus on culinary arts as an economic driver.

The nucleus for Bentonville’s culinary initiative is a former Tyson Foods factory in the central part of town where Northwest Arkansas Community College has based its culinary program. The building is in Bentonville’s Market District, one of two areas outlined in a city plan to rejuvenate Bentonville and develop its sense of place. The Market District’s focus is on food and culinary experiences. The other area is the Arts District and includes places such as galleries and studios.

The Market District seeks to capitalize on an emerging food scene galvanized by local restaurateurs in the downtown area. Sound familiar?

In the Bradenton area, we have many of the same ingredients as Bentonville, particularly the “enthusiastic entrepreneurial spirit, blossoming food scene and the prospects for community engagement in the region” that one leader in Bentonville’s culinary movement described as keys to their program.

The vision for the Bradenton area’s culinary focus is still in formation, but our collaborative partners — which include leaders in the local food scene — imagine a market district with shopping, dining, education and training; a hub that helps local businesses related to culinary arts start up and grow.

Our current task is to document the assets that already exist locally: culinary-related businesses, education, training, food production and supply chains. We are working with a team from the University of South Florida Sarasota-Manatee’s hospitality and business programs, Realize Bradenton and others to create an “asset map.” Then we can better define what types of projects will help to achieve the vision and we can assign a price tag to seek investment in the projects.

In Bentonville, the private Walton Family Foundation stepped up with $15 million in grants to finance the community college’s expansion of its culinary program and renovation of the factory building.

At the Bradenton Area Economic Development Corp., we are already developing a private-sector fundraising effort to better equip our operation for implementing aspects of our strategic plan. Realize Bradenton has successfully competed for private funding from the Knight Foundation to implement place-making projects in downtown and the Village of the Arts.

There is no doubt that creating a successful market district for the Bradenton area also will require far-sighted investors willing to take a long view.

Potential investors and Manatee County businesses that are interested in learning more about our local culinary district initiative can contact us at info@bradentonareaedc.com.

This story was originally published May 21, 2017 at 8:35 AM with the headline "Private funding can make amazing things happen around Bradenton."