Bradenton’s City Hall site search continues. A developer may have a solution
Time is running out for the City of Bradenton to find a new city hall location, but the relocation might be closer than officials originally expected.
Last year, the Bradenton City Council approved the $14.1 million sale of the city hall land at 101 Old Main Street to L&L Development Group. When the sale closes in 2026, the city will need to find a new spot for city hall, which includes city government staff and city council offices.
City officials previously weighed moving city hall out of downtown and away from the waterfront, to a location such as 14th Street West or near LECOM Park.
But on Thursday, Mayor Gene Brown and city staff told the city council that the developers for The Vias offered to scale down the planned apartments and allow the city to build a 45,000 square-foot city hall building along Tenth Street West, across the street from the Bishop Museum of Science and Nature.
The council expressed interest in the idea, with all members saying they would like city hall to remain downtown. Some cited limited real estate in downtown, and that this provided a fiscally-responsible option.
But the council was not asked to vote on anything at the workshop, and the item was added to gauge the rest of the council’s interest.
With the Bradenton Police Department moving to a new $35 million facility, a new city hall would only need to accommodate city staff and the council. A 45,000-square-foot building would be larger than the current city hall, which is about 30,000 square feet.
If the council decides to move forward with the idea, Brown said construction on city hall could start in 8 to 10 months, and would take about 14 months to complete. That means the new city hall could be open around the end of 2027.
Option provides cost-effective option, officials say
Brown started the discussion by framing the future of downtown Bradenton, emphasizing the several developments that will add hundreds of new apartments.
Examples include a seven-story luxury apartment building with 400 units near Wares Creek and a five-story affordable housing project on Ballard Park Drive.
The original plan for The Vias included a 20-story building with 95 condos, a 14-story hotel and an eight-story apartment complex with 350 apartments.
However, Brown said the developer approached the city with an option to use some of the space along Tenth Street West to build a three-story city hall. Brown said this would reduce the number of apartments in The Vias, but did not give a specific number.
“They were talking about possibly eliminating some of the apartments. Still having apartments, but not 350,” Brown said. “We’ve estimated that we need about 45,000 square feet, which would bring all of our departments together.”
Brown and Williams did not provide an estimate for how much the proposed city hall would cost.
Whether the city would lease the land or buy it back from L&L Development Group is another unanswered question, but Brown said either option would be a cheaper alternative to finding another location for city hall.
One of the most costly expenses to building a new city hall would be a parking garage, which the city’s Chief Operating Officer Lance Williams estimated would cost at least $8 million to $10 million.
The proposed city hall location would still be adjacent to the city’s public parking garage, which is also used by city staff.
“This is going to cost us less than if we went out to a separate site and had to have parking, stormwater,” Brown said. “A lot of things that still have to happen, but it’s going to cost us less money.”
City Council weighs city hall option
Brown and Williams proposed the idea as a cost-effective solution that would also keep Bradenton’s city hall in downtown.
“Everybody wants to stay downtown,” Williams said. “I think that’s kind of a critical piece to city hall, to servicing our citizens.”
The item was presented during the city council’s workshop on Thursday to start discussions, but the council would still need to make the final vote at a later date.
First impressions among city council members were generally positive, with a consensus that staying downtown was essential.
“I think it’s important that we have a viable presence in our urban core,” Councilwoman Marianne Barnebey said. “It’s an interesting idea, and I like the fact that we’re not going to have to spend a lot of money on property or on a parking structure.”
Councilwoman Lisa Gonzalez Moore expressed some hesitation, and cautioned staff that the city should exhaust all of its options. She also said she wanted to make sure the space would be adequate to account for possible staff growth.
“I also think that city hall should remain downtown,” Moore said. “But I don’t want to be short-sighted about this, and I don’t want to spend any money on something we’re just kind of throwing up and saying, ‘This works today.’”
Mixed-use development to replace city hall
In 2024, the Bradenton City Council approved the sale of the current 4-acre city hall location for $14.1 million to L&L Development Group.
In addition to the housing and hotel space, The Vias project will add an eight-story parking garage with 700 spaces. The plans also call for 20,000 square feet of retail space, with 8,600 square feet of restaurant space.
The sale is expected to close in 2026, and the developer previously said it would start construction within two years.
A spokesperson for L&L Development said there are no updates to plans for The Vias at this time.
This story was originally published December 16, 2025 at 5:50 AM.
