'Palmetto Riverside Development' project could be the city's next big thing

PALMETTO -- It rose out of the ground in 1928 and served Palmetto residents for decades as a Shell gas station -- and even more importantly perhaps to some residents, as the Manatee River's closest bait shop. The property at 301 Eighth Ave. W. along the city's southern gateway was purchased and demolished by the Community Redevelopment Agency in 2012.

With millions of dollars being invested by the CRA and its partner agencies in city and riverfront improvements, the 3 acres could become the next star location for a city on the verge of transformation.

The old Shell gas station was shut down by the Environmental Protection Agency in 2009 after its underground tanks failed inspection. The costly repairs were too much for the owners and the station closed its doors for good soon thereafter. The CRA purchased the land in April 2012 and after the demolition, cleaned the brownfield through a grant from the Sarasota-Manatee Metropolitan Planning Organization.

CRA Director Jeff Burton said the station property was just one of five adjacent parcels obtained by the CRA in 2012 for $1.2 million.

"The properties are already worth more than what we paid for them," said Burton. "And with millions being invested around it and It Works! Global settled in as a neighbor, it will be worth even more. But getting value out of the land isn't the CRA's goal. The true value of it to the city is what will eventually go there."

Burton said the goal in 2016 is to conglomerate the five parcels into one property and prepare the site for sale. The goal is for a multi-story, multi-use building that could potentially serve as a corporate headquarters, hotel or a mixed-use combination of residential and commercial.

"When we sell property, the CRA isn't looking to maximize re-sale potential," he said. "When looking at the overall value, it's what is the right project for Palmetto that is going to create jobs because it's those employees who are spending money downtown at the gas stations, restaurants, grocery stores and potentially buying homes or paying rent in the city."

Once the properties are organized, Burton will seek from the city a rezone to planned development and then have the property removed from the state's list of problem properties.

"It's already so low on the list after being cleaned up that there is a method to have it removed," said Burton. "Getting that taken care of and rezoning it to planned development are necessary steps to have everything taken care of for wide open redevelopment opportunities when it does go on the market. We want to have those things done ahead of putting in the market because we want developers to know the property is development ready."

Mark Young, Herald urban affairs reporter, can be reached at 941-745-7041 or follow him on Twitter@urbanmark2014.

This story was originally published December 31, 2015 at 3:29 PM with the headline "'Palmetto Riverside Development' project could be the city's next big thing ."