Can new apartment complex turn First Street from ‘traffic sewer’ to ‘livable’?
With 54,000 vehicles a day driving along First Street in downtown Bradenton, Planning and Community Development Director Catherine Hartley said a new apartment complex project at 102 Manatee Ave. W., “fits into the city’s vision of transforming First Street from an auto-oriented land use traffic sewer to a more livable city street.”
The Orlando-based NRP Group LLC estimates to begin construction on the luxury 302-unit Allure of Bradenton apartment complex in July.
The complex, on the northwest corner of one of the area’s busiest intersections, will feature multiple four-story buildings, a clubhouse and all of the amenities one can expect from a luxury apartment development, according to Kurt Kehoe, vice president of the NRP Group.
The 9.2 acres used to be the home of the Bradenton Herald, which moved to its current location at 1111 Third Ave. W. in 2013. The newspaper’s former headquarters was demolished in 2015, a year after Kehoe’s group acquired the land for $3.3 million.
“To us, the property is the most visible and best real estate in Bradenton,” Kehoe said. “We’ve been wanting to develop in Bradenton due to the changing demographics and job growth and this particular property came available in what we feel is the best economic scale that we need for walkability, proximity to Riverwalk and all of the other amenities of downtown Bradenton.”
Kehoe said the project “will far exceed anything offered in the market” for luxury apartment living that market rate rentals can offer, including the nearby Riversong and the Preserve at Riverwalk.
“Nothing against those guys, but we are definitely going to be at the top of the market and at a much higher level,” Kehoe said.
The first building is expected to come available for rent by the fall of 2019 and Kehoe said the entire project should be finished by the spring of 2020.
The NRP Group has projects all over the country with the latest opening in St. Petersburg. The Avanti luxury apartments recently opened with one bedroom units starting at $1,500 a month.
According to the Allure’s site plan, two four-story buildings will front Manatee Avenue West and two more will front Third Avenue West. The tree line along First Street will be preserved and access to the complex will be on from Third Avenue West and Third Street West. The center of the complex will feature another four-story residential unit, the clubhouse, pool and large pond.
Kehoe said the project’s location is also key for workers at the nearby Manatee Memorial Hospital. Hospital vice president Vernon DeSear said nearby housing has been a critical need for staff for sometime.
“If you look at the composition of our hospital staff, the proximity to the actual center of their activity is critical to them, not only because of long shifts, but quick access to the hospital,” DeSear said. “They could actually walk across the street and I think it’s phenomenal and very beneficial to our organization.”
Between new staff looking for a place to live, the resident program and traveling nurses, DeSear said a lot of staff are in that stage of not yet planning to put down roots, “So having something close is imperative to their needs, especially for the residents who are on duty sometimes for 24 hours. They want to be close by.”
DeSear said the preference, however, is for affordable housing, but Kehoe said he is very optimistic that it will benefit the nearby workforce. Hartley agrees.
“This project is an amazing addition to the city’s core and will provide much needed housing for people who work at the hospital and downtown, or those who just want to live in proximity to all the wonderful destinations and amenities the city has to offer,” Hartley said.
This story was originally published April 27, 2018 at 1:12 PM with the headline "Can new apartment complex turn First Street from ‘traffic sewer’ to ‘livable’?."