This Bradenton playground disappeared 2 years ago. When will it be replaced?
Bradenton officials tore down a neighborhood park two years ago, but reconstruction plans have yet to be finalized.
The city’s Community Redevelopment Agency approved the plans for Love Park in January 2025, but construction on the park on the corner of 11th Avenue West and Second Street West is still months away.
According to CRA Executive Director Jeff Burton, the city removed the old playground equipment in 2024 due to safety concerns.
“The park facilities were worn, potentially hazardous to the public, and in need of repair or replacement,” Burton said in an email to the Bradenton Herald. “The CRA chose to focus on redeveloping the entire site with a new park.”
Burton previously told the Bradenton Herald that the park had become a site of disrepair and attracted criminal activity, which is why the CRA chose to redevelop the park. The last time Love Park received renovations was in 2014 when the CRA spent $53,000 to add equipment and repair the surrounding fence.
Elements of the updated Love Park include a half-court basketball court, a partial football field, a covered gathering place and a “bamboo garden,” a type of obstacle course.
“The CRA understands that a thorough and thoughtful redevelopment usually takes a little longer to implement than usual and thanks the Central Redevelopment Area community for its patience,” Burton said in an email. “When finished, Love Park will be the best city park in Bradenton.”
Love Park to get $1.5 million replacement
The cost estimate for Love Park’s redevelopment is about $1.5 million. The CRA received bids in May and Burton expects the city council to review the bids in July.
“The CRA has worked with Applied Sciences, the City Police Department, and Public Works to create a more sustainable park. The site will include Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design (CPTED) and Low Impact Storm Water Development (LID) enhancements,” Burton said in an email.
The park will also include a public art component that tells the story of Clarence Love, the former city council member after whom the park is named.
Love was Bradenton’s first Black councilman who served from 1976 to 1980, and was the first Black man to serve as an elected official in Manatee County, according to the Manatee County Public Library System.
He was also active in Bradenton’s community redevelopment initiatives like getting sidewalks and streetlights installed throughout some of the city’s low-income neighborhoods.
