BRADENTON — Manatee County Commissioners unanimously approved the $23.5 million purchase of a “secondary” county administrative building located in Lakewood Ranch during a commission meeting on Tuesday afternoon. The approval includes roughly $11 million in additional investment for renovations of the site, for a projected total investment of $34.8 million.
Located near the Manatee/Sarasota County line, the 101,312-square-foot office building on 11.2 acres lies just beyond I-75 off of University Parkway (exit 213 to UTC Mall), at 9000 Town Center Parkway, Lakewood Ranch.
The staff presentation indicated that the government departments of Development Services, Property Management, Financial Management, Government Relations, and County Administration—currently housed in the downtown Bradenton administrative building—are among those planned to be moved to the new Lakewood Ranch facility.
Employees of the Department of Public Works who currently operate out of the public works building located on 26th Avenue East, as well as the county’s Human Resources staff who currently work out of a building off State Road 64 near Tom Bennett Park, will also be moved to the Lakewood Ranch location.
Roughly 530 employees are projected to be moved to the Lakewood Ranch location once renovations are completed.
The purchase will be funded by re-appropriating funds planned to rebuild the county’s downtown parking garage, which county officials announced in 2022 had fallen into disrepair. The county’s planned improvements for the downtown parking facility included a complete rebuild of the structure, with an expanded footprint and office space on top to create more space for government needs.
Preliminary estimates on such a rebuild would likely exceed $100 million, said county staff, justifying the strategic decision to abandon that project as imagined and replace it with the Lakewood Ranch office building acquisition opportunity.
Not only would the purchase of the Lakewood Ranch property be less expensive than the originally considered garage rebuild, said staff, but it would also provide the needed additional space while also supporting the government’s ability to expand services into rapidly growing eastern portions of the county.
Staff said the parking garage initiative can still proceed through a possible public/private partnership arrangement between the county, the City of Bradenton, and a private entity.
The county will retain the existing downtown administrative building, with plans for the space freed by the departments moved to Lakewood Ranch, supporting more space, or even new downtown offices, for the State Attorney’s Office, the Supervisor of Elections, Guardian Ad Litem, and Probation.
Some existing services in the county’s downtown building at 1112 Manatee Ave West will stay in their current location, including board chambers, the county attorney, records and mailroom, IT, and administration offices.
The closing on the purchase of the Lakewood Ranch property is set to occur “on or before” September 1, 2025, but the departments targeted to be relocated to the site would be moved in a phased transition. County officials say that several weeks of preparation will be necessary before any employees or departments can relocate.
Staff’s presentation also provided that the county-owned property on Lena Road, adjacent to the landfill, was also planned for improvements and facilities as a part of the overall plan to support county and service growth.
The empty 161-acre site, commonly referred to as the “Lena Road property,” was purchased in 2020 in anticipation of projected needs to develop a more centrally located county complex.
On Tuesday, a PowerPoint presentation showed that its potential future use includes the development of a public works operations and fleet services facility, a sheriff's property and evidence facility, a sheriff and EMS substation, and a utilities lab and distribution facility.
Following the staff presentation, commissioners appeared widely supportive of the plan and purchase.
Commissioner Tal Siddique, who represents the county’s western District 3, expressed some apprehension about what the location change could potentially mean for his constituents' access to certain services, but with many services (such as permitting) being available online and board meetings still planned to be held downtown, he ultimately gave his support.
Several citizens who provided public comment on the proposed purchase criticized what they called a lack of transparency. Some noted that no previous discussions had been held in a public meeting or workshop, alerting the public that an overall plan to invest in moving departments, services, or shopping for properties to support that was even underway.
However, some citizens who took to the podium stated that while they attended the meeting with the intention of addressing commissioners in opposition to the purchase, the staff presentation had changed their positions to support the action.
Commissioner Carol Felts acknowledged the concern expressed by some citizens regarding transparency, proposing that the board might consider delaying the vote to provide time for more information to be communicated to the public and for additional feedback to be collected.
However, staff made clear that the proposed purchase was an opportunity that could be missed with such a delay, and that waiting for a similar opportunity to present itself in the future could be a long wait.
Felts, who overall expressed favorability for the future growth plans, the property, and other details, ultimately voted with her colleagues to move forward with executing the contract.
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Bill
Everyone on this commission needs to be replaced. Never trust a rushed deal,someone is getting a sweet payoff thanks to the taxpayers. This is just another reason it cost so much to live in this area and why our taxes keep going up. Why put this in the far end of the county?
Tuesday, May 6 Report this
Cat L
Mixed feelings. The lack of transparency doesn't encourage public trust, which is something that's currently quite low. At the same time, a list of things were needed.... and it looks like Lena Rd will be used more as originally intended.
Communication needs improvement BOCC.
Wednesday, May 7 Report this
David Daniels
I loved that the local League of Women Voters stepped up and gave a thoughtful, well-reasoned public comment on the issue. Thank you LWV. Well done.
Wednesday, May 7 Report this
Dianna
The administration can either foster support or distrust from the community. A contract was already in place. There was no reason not to give the public more information. The current administration always chooses distrust. It was an insulting, disrespectful, and lazy way to treat the taxpayers. LWV thank you, your comments were spot on.
Wednesday, May 7 Report this
Lktinsanfran
One of the main things that keeps on floating through my mind is: Who is going to pay for all of the additional gasoline that it is going to be required to basically go to Sarasota? For all those employees who live in East or West Bradenton, this additional 30-40 miles total per day is really going to add up in dollars and time spent on the road. Plus, it is going to add more commuters to I-75, which is already terribly congested. Once again, the Manatee County Commissioners defy logic.
Wednesday, May 7 Report this
pdsinc
The money would be better spent on Infrastructure which has been neglected long enough. The abandonded mall area where we already have county government would be a better choice.
Thursday, May 8 Report this