This idea for Bradenton City Hall could generate hundreds of millions of dollars
The best use of the waterfront City Hall property in downtown Bradenton might involve a new hotel and condos, according to a new report.
City leaders hired a Regional Economic Consulting Group to lead an economic impact study on the redevelopment of the property. Earlier this year, Bradenton put the 3.9-acre property up for sale in a nationwide advertisement.
Later this year, the Bradenton City Council will reveal the purchase offers it received over a three-month period. In order to get the best bang for their buck, city officials may want to consider selling the building to a developer seeking to build a specific combination of a hotel, condominiums, retail and office space, the report said.
“That’s what’s being built if you look around Florida waterfront properties,” said City Administrator Rob Perry. “There’s a reason why it’s being built. It maximizes the (economic impact).”
The report concluded that development of the City Hall property could contribute hundreds of millions of dollars to the local economy by creating new jobs and tax revenue.
The consultants said the best-case scenario is a 1,000,000-square-foot project that includes 375,000 square feet of hotel space, 375,000 square feet of condos, 125,000 square feet of retail space and 125,000 square feet of office space.
City Hall site could generate millions
Based on market rates in the area, the development could have a regional impact of more than $440 million dollars, the consultants said.
“What it means to me is that the economic opportunity for the entire city exists in the crown jewel of the downtown waterfront and surrounding areas,” Perry said. “It’s pretty cool that you can use this part of the city to benefit the east side, the south side and the west side significantly with tax-based growth.”
In a presentation last week, the consultants shared their findings with the Bradenton City Council. They also provided an interactive calculator that will allow city leaders to estimate the economic impact of any proposal that comes before the board by plugging in the size of the project and the proposed uses.
“This place has a lot of value and if you can make use of that, you can generate a lot for the city,” said Clyde Diao, founder of the REC Group, referring to City Hall’s location on prime real estate.
Speaking with the Bradenton Herald, Mayor Gene Brown said he was excited about the report and the help it will provide while considering offers to sell City Hall.
“This shows the potential and what different options will bring you,” said Brown. “We can plug in our percentages and really get a wide range of possibilities. The public has to be involved in that. This is a catalyst for how our city goes forward.”
Council members also expressed appreciation for the report.
“I find all of this rather encouraging,” said Councilwoman Marianne Barnebey, who recalled being opposed to the decision to build City Hall along the Manatee River in the late 90s. “If we have an opportunity to correct that while improving our downtown and our tax base, I think it’s something we need to look very seriously at.”
“I don’t have the luxury of history, but I know there were times when the public didn’t really agree with where we’re going with things,” added Councilwoman Pamela Coachman. “This tool will be very beneficial as we’re moving forward.”
Offers to buy City Hall are due in August. As part of the nationwide ad, city leaders asked prospective buyers to include detailed plans for what they plan to build on the property. The offers will be publicly revealed later this year.
As of last Wednesday, more than 26,000 people have viewed the property listing, but the city has not received any purchase offers. Bids are expected to arrive closer to the due date, city officials say. Once City Council begins reviewing the proposals, Brown says he plans to keep an open mind.
“What’s going to energize our urban core the most?” Brown asked. “Is it a mix of a lot of things? I’m excited about the other things we can bring in and create interest in it. There may be something out of the box that we haven’t thought of.”
This story was originally published July 25, 2022 at 5:45 AM.
