Bradenton CCRA seeking redevelopment interest for Love Apartments
BRADENTON -- The Bradenton Central Community Redevelop Agency is seeking redevelopment proposals for the 1.6-acre Love Apartments complex near Sixth Street Court East and Ninth Avenue East, built in the 1950s.
Redeveloping the complex as part of a larger plan to create more affordable workforce housing near the downtown area has been a goal of the CCRA for some time, in its mission to remove slum and blight.
CCRA manager Jesus Nino said the request for proposal is linked to efforts to develop land at Ninth Avenue East (Martin Luther King Avenue) and Third Street East. An RFP for the project was also released Thursday.
"We don't want to displace anyone when we redevelop Love Apartments," said Nino. "So the goal of the RFPs is to do the mixed-use development of residential, retail and office on the MLK mixed-use development site, get that built and relocate the residents to the new residential units before we redevelop Love Apartments."
The MLK mixed-use development RFP consists of 1.2 acres the CCRA acquired from the city. Ideally, the project should have residential units perched on top of commercial space, and is considered to be the "signature project" of the CCRA. According to the RFP, the project has been designed with great care because it will set the standard for all future CCRA projects.
Low-income families live in the Love Apartments. While few receive public assistance, they are part of the city CCRA lower rent range designed for low-income families.
"We want better units there," Nino said. "What's there now is not the best, so we are looking for better. That will be up to the developer to show us their best ideas, and we'll sift through the proposals using a selection committee and weed out the ones that we don't believe will work."
The CCRA purchased the 38-unit Love Apartments in 2006 with the intention of redevelopment. Officials believe the condition of the complex has gone beyond the point of simple rehabilitation.
"The end goal, is the development of a sustainable neighborhood," states the RFP.
The city has set a June 1 deadline to receive the proposals. Nino said the selection committee will begin reviewing the applications and the best proposals will go back before the CCRA board, then through the city planning process with an eventual vote by the Bradenton City Council.
Planning and Community Development Director Tim Polk said the CCRA oversees management and operations of the Love Apartments with the Bradenton Housing Authority, with a few families on the Section 8 voucher program.
"I feel real good that this is moving forward," said Polk.
Jessica Whitfield, with her three children, has lived in the aging Love Apartments about two years. While she likes her apartment, she acknowledges the conditions are not the best. Standing in front of her apartment brushing the hair of her youngest daughter, Whitfield expressed surprise Thursday at what the city wants to do.
"They've been talking about doing something like this for a really long time," she said. "No one has been in contact with us about this, but anything the city can do to upgrade is a good thing. I like it here, but it's not in the greatest of shape."
Polk said once the MLK project is completed, the CCRA will move its offices from downtown into the new building to give CCRA staff a base of operations from within the district.
Mark Young, Herald urban affairs reporter, can be reached at 941-745-7041 or follow him on Twitter @urbanmark2014.
This story was originally published April 17, 2015 at 12:00 AM with the headline "Bradenton CCRA seeking redevelopment interest for Love Apartments ."