Bradenton moves closer to potential grocery store, other shopping on ‘tortured property’
“Tortured property,” as one city staff member described it, is a fairly accurate portrayal of the land that sits at 201 13th Ave. W. near the Bradenton Village Apartments.
The site has seen multiple development attempts and subsequent failures over the years but on Wednesday, action taken to sign a ground lease with a new developer has hopes rising again.
It’s an area of the community labeled a “food desert,” for the residents who have to travel an abnormal distance to find fresh, nutritional groceries. For a community that is largely low-income, and often relies on public transportation, it’s a been a long and emotional ride as residents have had hopes dashed time and again.
Wednesday’s action to approve the ground lease follows an Aug. 20 approval of a letter of intent from developer Peter D’Addeo who specializes in developing properties for national drug store chains. D’Addeo’s project proposes a retail shopping center, complete with a grocery store.
A few changes from that letter of intent almost grounded the project before it got any further and the city council, acting as the Central Community Redevelopment Agency, launched into a lengthy debate that ultimately was resolved with some minor compromises.
The developer agreed that $6,000 of a $24,000 deposit would be nonrefundable. D’Addeo also agreed to work around language council members did not like.
The compromise came in the form of giving the developer six months before paying the $1,000 a month rent on the land in order to do his due diligence on the property.
The due diligence period is where most of the previously proposed projects came to an end, but many of those projects also relied on tax credits the state and federal government sell to investors for tax breaks that help fund projects that would otherwise not be financially viable.
For Ward 3 Councilman Patrick Roff, the concern came with the three-year window the developer has in the lease to begin construction. If no construction takes place after three years, the terms of the lease come to an end. Roff said all the city can do is continue to try and to continue to offer hope.
“A lot of people have tried to make something happen there and failed,” Roff said. “I hope this developer is the one that can pull it off, but I realize it’s a tough sell.”
D’Addeo said he’s the developer to make it happen.
“I expected to have this lease in place by July, but COVID stopped everything,” he said. “I’ve been trying really hard and this is what I do. I’m the best person to make this happen.”
This story was originally published December 31, 2020 at 5:00 AM.