New downtown park touted as major gathering place for Bradenton. But how to pay for it?

With the new City Centre parking garage and the Spring Hill Suites hotel expected to open by mid-May in downtown Bradenton, the city has begun the “visioning process” for what to do with the land between the garage and city hall.

That vision is spectacular, but will the city be able to afford it with all of the projects currently underway or about to begin?

Fortunately, that answer doesn’t have to come right away and for now city officials can “dream big,”, according to Economic Development Director Carl Callahan who was inspired by a marketplace during a visit to Prague.

In the Czech capital, modified shipping containers are used as mini-cafes for a variety of small food outlets.. They could be temporary uses with multiple users offering even more varieties on any given day.

“The concept in Prague is wildly successful,” Callahan said. “It’s really spread out their downtown so now it’s time to see how we can really energize downtown Bradenton. How do we make it a unique destination.”

Fawley Bryant Architecture presented the city council with a virtual tour on Wednesday of what a Bradenton plaza could look. The design features a marketplace at the western edge of the plaza fronting Old Main Street with green space stretching to the east toward 10th Street West.

In the middle would be a raised section of grass for people to gather and watch a movie being played on a screen on the side of the new garage. A concert could take place on the other side of the hill..

“I think what we’ve figured out with the downtown is more the merrier,” Callahan said. “People can get very entrepreneurial with the containers for retail or cafes. The Prague one has gotten even more successful since I was there last year and the rules are intended to make it family friendly.”

Costs will ultimately determine the amenities.

“The original concept is something we’ve completely wandered off of with this, so the elephant in the room is the cost,” said Ward 3 Councilman Patrick Roff. “The garage cost more than expected and now we are into the streetscape that we have to stagger because of costs. Where’s all the money coming from all of a sudden?”

Roff said he’s not against the concept, “but it’s a long way from where we started.”

The city already budgeted $500,000 for the plaza. Callahan said all of the current projects about to get started, such as the streetscaping, extension of Riverwalk, Glazier Gates II park and the improvements at Mineral Springs are funded through 2021.

With the city bringing in $4 million a year from the half-cent sales tax approved by voters in 2016, Callahan said it would be no issue finding the money or pursuing a short-term loan to get the project going knowing, it would be fully funded in the near future.

However, Callahan said, “Every one of our projects started out with a concept and all you are doing now is essentially picking out the components you like and then go to design. The idea was to dream a little bit for this area. We want to have dreams and figure out what you can do with them.”

Callahan said the city doesn’t have to stick with the more permanent shipping containers, but instead could choose to go with tents to get the same effect, while making it more temporary for certain events.

“Everyone is so excited about what we are doing with this plaza,” said Ward 2 Councilman Gene Brown. “The vendors and merchants downtown, the farmer’s market, everyone. Obviously the cost is a huge factor but we are spending money on a parking garage that is going to transitionalize generations to come for our community. People are expecting something positive and exciting there.”

Ward 1 Councilman Gene Gallo said the conceptual design is exactly what the people have been asking for, for years.

“This is probably one of the greatest things I’ve seen since I’ve been on the council,” Gallo said. “This is what we’ve talked about for years. This is exciting. This is beautiful. This is what Bradenton absolutely, 100 percent needs.”

No decisions were made on Wednesday other than the council wanting to see some estimated costs on what is being proposed before making any further decisions.