Upper floors of historic Manatee County Courthouse sparkle after re-do

BRADENTON -- The top two floors of the historic Manatee County Courthouse have been updated and remodeled, and now house workers moved from a variety of rented locations in downtown Bradenton.

Part of the 1913-era building's legacy is an old courtroom that awaits restoration, said Christine Clyne, director of employee/public relations for R.B. "Chips" Shore, Manatee County clerk of the circuit court and comptroller.

County officials hope refurbishing could start on the old courtroom after the first of the year, she said.

"It will be used for legal proceedings, and maybe as a movie or film set," said Clyne.

The upper floors of the courthouse at 1115 Manatee Ave. W., which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, now offer clean, modern quarters to a variety of workers.

The second floor, renovated at a cost of $2.7 million, now houses a tenant that pays rent: A state program that handles child support enforcement, said Clyne.

The program collects and distributes to custodial parents $27 million in child support payments each year, she said.

"It does feel welcoming," said Erick Fuentes, 24, of Bradenton, who was waiting for a relative with his brother, David Fuentes, 9, in a newly remodeled section of the second floor.

"I really enjoy the environment around here," said Fuentes. "The service is a lot faster than it used to be, too."

The third floor, which cost $316,033 to update, houses Teen Court and offices of the

clerk's staff such as employee relations, finance, internal audit and payroll.

A prime goal of the interior update was to halt rental payments for county employees housed in other buildings, said Clyne.

"All the clerk's employees are back under one roof," she said.

The part of the courthouse the public mostly sees is the first floor, where county employees handle such things as marriage licenses and traffic tickets.

Sara Kennedy, Herald reporter, can be reached at 941-745-7031. Follow her on Twitter @sarawrites.

This story was originally published December 1, 2014 at 12:00 AM with the headline "Upper floors of historic Manatee County Courthouse sparkle after re-do ."