Belief that 14th Street West is the next development haven grows with latest addition

The combined effort of Bradenton’s 14th Street West Community Redevelopment Agency and Manatee County’s Southwest Tax Increment Fund District is beginning to show signs of success as businesses and investors look beyond the corridor’s long-troubled history to see its potential.

The latest to join the 14th Street West community is Fastsigns of Bradenton, a family-owned franchise of the national chain. Fastsigns will relocate from its Cortez Road location to 3613 14th St. W. The property is under construction and co-owner Annette Bojewski expects their new 5,250-square-foot facility to open by April or May.

“We are so excited about the 14th Street location,” she said. “I think it’s an up-and-coming area for development and becoming a desirable area for new businesses. Both ends of 14th are doing really well and the middle is starting to fill in.

“I can see the potential of that area. I live in Pennsylvania and we have a similar street to that one and at one point in time it just exploded with growth. I can see that happening here.”

Signs nearby still read, “Midtown Manatee,” a concept developed prior to the Great Recession to give that middle section of 14th Street that runs south into Manatee County and north into Bradenton at 27th Avenue West its own identity. The concept may see a resurgence with the Fastsigns relocation and other key indicators that growth on the northern and southern ends of 14th Street are filtering inward.

The south side of Cortez Road has seen a lot of activity with 1000 Degrees Pizzeria opening in the 6200 block of 14th Street West in October; Tiramisu Italian restaurant celebrating its third anniversary in the 5200 block; and Acapulco Tropical opening in February in the 5600 block. Aldi plans to open in the former Sonny’s BBQ location in the 5700 block in a stretch of Tamiami Trail filled with activity. Buffalo Wild Wings began some of the inward development expansion when it opened in the summer of 2016 in the 4100 block.

On the northern end, closer to downtown Bradenton, the Village of the Arts boundaries now extend to 14th Street; the Trulieve medical marijuana dispensary opened in September; the Bradenton Veterinary Hospital did a major renovation in the 1600 block, as did the Humane Society in the 2500 block.

Sunz Insurance played a major role by purchasing the old bank high-rise building on the corner of 14th Street and Sixth Avenue West. Sunz renovated the interior and exterior and recently completed new landscaping features fronting 14th Street. Sage Biscuit opened last year on the corner of 14th Street West and Manatee Avenue West and has been a big draw for breakfast and lunch diners.

It may be difficult at times for the average person to see the 14th Street West corridor undergoing change, but investors are noticing. Economic Development Director Carl Callahan and Bradenton City Councilman Patrick Roff continue to tout it, saying there is, “a lot of interest,” particularly in several key undeveloped parcels close to downtown.

The city is building the Rebecca and John Neil Park just off the corridor as part of a larger Ballard Park infill project. Roff said it’s part of a bigger piece of the 14th Street West puzzle that will be getting a lot more city attention in the coming year.

“I can see a lot of people getting the feel for it,” Bojewski said. “It’s a great opportunity for business owners. I feel that area is going to grow tremendously and it should. It’s prime property. We are very excited about it and believe it’s a wonderful opportunity and great location for not only new growth for our store, but for other stores desiring to come into the area.”

The Bojewskis purchased the 14th Street West property in May 2016 under the name Tidewater Leasing LLC for $345,000, according to property records. The property was formerly Southwind Court, which had been a large garage, some office space and three efficiency apartments. Bojewski said they initially thought about renovating the existing structures but they were too dilapidated to do anything with, so they pulled demolition permits a month after buying the land.

The new facility will more than double their work space from their current location in the 4800 block of Cortez Road West. Bojewski said the new facility will include a climate-controlled garage where her son, Fastsigns co-owner Kevin Bojewski, can expand the business’s focus to wrapping cars.

They opened at their original location in 2012, “And we’ve been limited on what we can do,” Annette Bojewski said. “Now we’ll have different avenues of the sign business and feel we can better serve the community.”

Besides the main building, the family is building an additional 1,875-square-foot building they hope to lease.

“It will be perfect for an office, retail or even a restaurant,” she said.

This story was originally published December 27, 2017 at 2:00 PM with the headline "Belief that 14th Street West is the next development haven grows with latest addition."