Bradenton has three entertainment districts. All it needs now are businesses to fill them

There has long been talk of developing the first entertainment districts in Bradenton, but it’s a slow-moving process that may not be clearly defined.

In 2017, Bradenton officials drafted a new noise ordinance that was seen as key to making the idea of a specially designated area work for restaurants, bars and other nightlife-related businesses work for the city, the businesses, neighboring residents and patrons.

After heated discussions, the noise ordinance passed in March 2017. It gave businesses an extra two hours of the higher decibel allowance on weekends.

The ordinance allowed for 75 decibels in non-residential districts from 7 a.m. until 10 p.m. on Sundays through Thursdays and midnight on Fridays, Saturdays and holidays. After those designated hours, sound levels must drop to 65.

In June 2017, officials then drew lines for an entertainment district encompassing several blocks of Old Manatee in East Bradenton — including the Caddy’s at the Pointe restaurant on the Manatee River — that officials desired to become a focal point of redevelopment with businesses and outdoor entertainment.

Michael Gallen, vice president of public policy and small business at the Manatee Chamber of Commerce, said when the city adopted the noise ordinance, it created the opportunity for three entertainment districts: one in Old Manatee, another on Old Main Street and a third on Ninth Street West.

The Old Manatee district encompasses a stretch along Ninth Street East from Caddy’s at the Pointe to Ninth Avenue East. Old Main Street’s section is between Manatee Avenue and the river. A district on Ninth Street West would likely be between 17th Avenue West and Ninth Avenue West.

“The idea was to have those pinpointed as places to revitalize,” Gallen said.

Bradenton city councilman Gene Brown said there’s nothing specifically in the works for creating an entertainment district other than normal day operations. However, they would love for something new to come.

City councilman Patrick Roff said such a space already exists in the city, but not in Old Manatee or along Ninth Street West.

“I believe we have an entertainment district, it’s called Main Street,” Roff said. “I don’t know why we keep pushing for something to happen.”

The term “entertainment district,” he said, has been thrown around with no plan behind it.

Brown sees potential for entertainment districts to develop in both the Old Manatee area and along Ninth Street West area.

Over the last several years, Barry Elwonger, sales and marketing director for Motorworks Brewing on Ninth Street West, said there was talk of making the area between LECOM Field and the Riverwalk a full-on entertainment district. But that has yet to happen.

“We’ve certainly helped change the area quite a bit, made it more of a communal spot,” Elwonger said. “We’re not just a bar or brewery or whatever, we’re a true community gathering space.”

Motorworks Brewing would be one of the pivotal cornerstones of a Ninth Street entertainment district, along with LECOM Park and Darwin’s Brewery.

One step the city could take to help the concept along, Elwonger said, is to make the street in front of Motorworks safer by adding a crosswalk, better lighting and a more walkable streetscape, as well doing more to to reduce crime in the area.

“There’s some very simple stuff that could and should be done beyond just trying to get more business in this area is what you need in order to make it a true entertainment district. You need to give people a reason to want to build over here and there really hasn’t been seemingly much of that,” Elwonger said.

He believes that if the area became a true entertainment district, Motorworks would see even more business.

A work in progress?

The areas of Ninth Street West and Old Manatee are works in progress, still in the early stages, said Gallen.

And with the construction of the Preserve at Riverwalk apartments on 11th Street East and the Addison on Sixth Avenue East near Ninth Street East, which is mostly affordable housing, there will soon be more people in living in the area.

He said both Ninth Street and Old Manatee are moving in the right direction. The development of affordable and workforce housing will be critical to developing those districts, he said.

Gallen added the chamber would still support moving forward with those and other entertainment districts. A timeline for when these concepts come to life, is pretty fluid. Once the new apartment complexes in the city are occupied, Gallen said, that’s when the demand for more stores and restaurants will be created.

Former city council member Bemis Smith backed Old Manatee becoming an entertainment district when he was in office. He said there are now some buildings in Old Manatee for sale that he believes could be suitable for some sort of entertainment venue. Smith remains optimistic that, given time, the area will see more development over the next few years.

“Often things don’t happen as quickly as you would like but that doesn’t take away from the importance of them,” said Smith.

City officials say purchase shows promise

A pending real estate deal could one day be a linchpin for the development of an entertainment district along Ninth Street West.

The city is working to buy a former auto-body shop in the 1400 block of Ninth Street West for $350,000 — well below the original asking price of $490,000. Funds for the purchase will come from the sale of the Evers reservoir property.

City Administrator and Economic Development Director Carl Callahan has told city council members the plan is to use it for the Public Works department’s sign and meter shops until they can get a new facility. It would also be a place for the Bradenton Police Department to inspect and collect evidence from vehicles seized in investigations. However, the vehicles would not be stored on the lot, just inspected on site, Police Chief Melanie Bevan said in a July meeting.

In a 3-1 vote to purchase property, Councilman Roff dissented, with councilman Bill Sanders absent. Roff said he was skeptical of the purchase and suggested taking the $350,000 to fast-track the creation of a new public works building.

“I really don’t believe we’re going to buy it and then down the road we’re going to be in the place the seller is now,” Roff said.

Others are more optimistic.

Councilman Brown took what he called a more global look at the purchase, and said it was a win-win for the city, starting with serving as a home for the sign department.

“That property can help us perceive that next step,” Brown said Thursday. “It gives us the opportunity to use it in transition to what happens in the future. ... It could be a catalyst to becoming the entertainment district.”

Looking even further along, Councilman Gallo said the purchase is an opportunity to do what the city wants with Ninth Street and give it a jump toward becoming an entertainment center.

“It would be great to see the city build a sports bar and us get into a lease program,” Gallo said at the council meeting.

“If developers saw that the city is willing to put their money where their mouth is, that could be a jump start to a lot of opportunities there and I think the ballpark is the center of it,” Gallo said in an interview Wednesday.

Mayor Wayne Poston said in the meeting he liked the idea of connecting the auto-body shop property to the Village of the Arts.

The property stretches to 10th Street West so it could connect the southern end of the Village of the Arts to the baseball park, Callahan noted.

Gallen, who was later told about the purchase by the Bradenton Herald, thought it was a good idea for the city. He said it could be turned into a restaurant or something else that adds to the nightlife.

“That could create public-private partnership in the future where the city has more control over the use of the property,” Gallen said.

This story was originally published August 5, 2019 at 4:59 AM.