Should Bradenton sell its waterfront City Hall? Study will determine what it’s worth
City leaders will find out how much their waterfront City Hall in downtown Bradenton is worth as part of a new study that could lead to redevelopment opportunities.
The Bradenton City Council has voted to move forward with a space study, as well as a property survey and appraisal to determine how much the building is worth.
City Hall, 101 Old Main St. W., sits just across the street from the Twin Dolphin Marina on the Manatee River. For years, council members have wondered whether it would make more sense to move the building to another part of the city in order to spark redevelopment downtown.
“It’s not about selling City Hall. It’s about developing the urban core and seeing what options we have,” Mayor Gene Brown says.
Brown, who was recently elected as the first new mayor in 20 years, has led the charge to conduct the study. In previous interviews with the Bradenton Herald, he said he hoped to find new ways to get more residents to live downtown, which is seen as a major incentive for urban redevelopment.
City Administrator Rob Perry said the space study, which will determine how much building space city staff need to successfully operate, is expected to cost around $19,000. Costs for the land survey and appraisal have not been determined yet.
“We’ll be reviewing for what the components would be to become more efficient in the urban core. We have to consider the possibility of what else is out there,” Perry explained.
Other City Council members who discussed the idea Wednesday said they were willing to go along with the study but stopped short of any commitment to sell the building and move city operations inland.
“I think it’s appropriate for us to have a space study and figure out our needs,” Councilwoman Jayne Kocher said.
There’s plenty of unused space in City Hall, but there are also areas that are too congested for city employees, Councilwoman Marianne Barnebey said. Around 250 city employees, including Bradenton Police Department officers, work out of the building presently.
“We’ve got some people working on top of each other and other spaces not being used,” she said, referring in part to the municipal auditorium that sits empty most of the time in the heart of the building.
“The way we’re set up now, it’s City Hall and the police station,” added Brown, who also pointed out that the city’s 2022 budget and organization chart calls for new government employee positions. “They’re both busting at the seams with staff.”
City leaders also toyed with the idea of selling City Hall in 2016, but they never found a buyer. The upcoming space study would lay the foundation for relocating City Hall.
The city has undergone a transformation in the 23 years since Bradenton built City Hall at its current location. The building sits between two hotels and will sit a stone’s throw from a 12-story affordable housing complex in the heart of downtown.
Analysts have said that one of the keys to attracting economic growth downtown is to provide more housing units in that area. Selling the property to a real estate developer could do just that, Brown said.
“I would prefer to build our urban core. What would be the best development? That’s yet to be seen, but it should be something to spark the urban core and boost the whole town,” he said. “It’s important for us as a city to drive the development downtown to meet the needs of the citizens.”
How much is the property worth?
Not everyone is keen on selling the building. Councilman Patrick Roff urged his fellow board members to remain cautious, especially considering that much of the property’s worth is tied to the building.
Including the three-story parking garage that the city built in 2019, the Manatee County Property Appraiser’s website values the City Hall property at $23.4 million.
“There are outside forces that want us to vacate this building and have them sell it,” Roff said. “This building has value, but if we could use it for another purpose and put it on the market, that would be great.”
Councilman Bill Sanders made a similar argument, pointing out that he and many other Bradenton residents were against the decision to build the government office on prime real estate in 1998. If the board does move to sell the building now, he predicts a huge cost for taxpayers.
“They built the thing without public support and now they’re trying to give it away. If we want to sell it, that’s fine,” Sanders said. “I don’t have a problem with it, but we need to sell it at a fair price. It should have never been built there on prime real estate.”
Moving City Hall would also mean relocating the police department, Sanders said, which could increase the financial impact for the city.
“How are we going to come up with the money to put the police station and city hall somewhere else? If it’s done, I want it done right, but I can pretty much guarantee it’s going to be a money-loser for the taxpayers.”
Sanders cast the lone vote against moving forward with the space study and land appraisal. He said he believed it was improper for Brown to sign a space study contract in July without bringing it before the board first.
The contract for the $19,160 study, which will be conducted by the Fawley Bryant Architecture firm, did not receive an official vote from the board before it was approved. Speaking with City Council on Wednesday, Brown highlighted the fact there was a consensus to move forward and no money has been paid yet.
“We’ve talked about this numerous times and they said to proceed. It was always said that it would back to the council. There were no transparency issues,” said Brown. “My biggest concern all along has been when we talk about things and nothing happens.”
Officials don’t expect any major decisions to be made quickly. The space study is expected to be completed in about 3 months. The findings of the study will be shared with City Council at that time.
“The space study is step No. 1 and selling City Hall may be step No. 5,” Brown said. “There are steps in between, but if you don’t take step No. 1, you can’t take step No. 5.”
This story was originally published September 24, 2021 at 3:24 PM.
