Bradenton set to consider $14.1 million City Hall sale, major mixed-use development

The Bradenton City Council is expected to vote Wednesday on a major development project that would dramatically change the city’s downtown waterfront by adding a massive mixed-use development.

The project would include an eight-story apartment building with 350 units, a 14-story hotel with 130 rooms and a 20-story condo building with 95 units. Other features include 20,000 square feet of retail space, 8,600 square feet of restaurant space and an eight-story parking garage.

City leaders are considering a $14.1 million offer from L&L Development Group for the 4-acre site, which houses City Hall and the Bradenton Police Department headquarters. If approved, the city would need to relocate City Hall by the end of 2025, officials say.

As of Tuesday afternoon, a new City Hall location has not been determined. City leaders have said they may consider temporarily renting space in downtown Bradenton to clear the property for development.

Critics, including one former city council member, have argued that Bradenton has moved too quickly to sell the property. Ahead of the board’s April 2023 vote to begin negotiations, former City Councilman Bill Sanders questioned how the city could guarantee the funds to build a new police department and City Hall.

“I think we do have the cart in front of the horse. We don’t know how we’re going for this,” Sanders said at the time.

Bradenton officials held a series of neighborhood meetings in 2023 to answer questions that residents have about the sale and relocation of City Hall.

Bradenton considers $14.1 million City Hall sale

The city of Bradenton first began considering the possibility of selling the City Hall property over two years ago. In March 2022, two potential buyers offered $10 million for the city’s waterfront property.

Later, Bradenton officials posted a nationwide ad that attracted five proposals to purchase City Hall, demolish the building and develop various combinations of restaurants, apartments, condos and more.

After hearing presentations from interested buyers, council members voted to begin contract negotiations with L&L Development Group, a joint partnership that includes Bradenton-based NDC Construction Company’s Ron Allen. The group proposed The Vias, which features a combination of retail, tourist attractions and housing.

In an interview with the Bradenton Herald, Mayor Gene Brown said he hopes to create a vibrant downtown, where residents can work close to home, shop at grocery stores and walk to restaurants. The project could also give the area an economic boost, he predicted.

“I’m a fifth-generation Manatee County person,” Brown said. “My grandkids are seventh generation. We want to be able to keep our kids here. We’ve got to give them an opportunity to have positive things to do in town. Right now, you hear people say they go to Sarasota to do things or they go to St. Pete to do things.”

Brown said he wants the Manatee River waterfront to have a hometown feel. He said the city plans to keep the oak tree, which he said is part of the “million-dollar view.”

Brown said one goal is to make downtown more walkable. While some residents raised concerns about traffic, he said the city is working with the Florida Department of Transportation and the Metropolitan Planning Organization to ease congestion in the area.

Wednesday’s public meeting begins at Bradenton City Hall, 101 Old Main St. W., at 8:30 a.m.