BRADENTON — Manatee County is seeking proposals for the purchase and development of multiple government-owned adjacent properties in downtown Bradenton. Proposed projects should include combined parking, residential, commercial, and recreational facilities, with possible components such as a grocery store, residential housing, a fitness center or gym, with the integration of public transit.
The parcels and buildings subject to the invitation to negotiate (ITN) include the county’s public parking garage, which is adjacent to the county’s Administration Building on Manatee Avenue West, and part of the government’s Administration Complex.
In 2022, county officials announced that the parking garage had deteriorated to the point where the entire structure would need to be rebuilt. A year later, in 2023, County Administrator Charlie Bishop told county commissioners that a structural engineer's report revealed the parking garage had “only two years remaining” without significant investment in repairs.
During a BOCC work session that same year, staff presented possible options for the garage’s rebuild, recommending a design that would create a larger footprint with increased parking capacity, as well as additional flex office, retail, and/or residential space.
In 2024, commissioners approved the execution of a $1.8 million agreement with Sweet Sparkman Architects for a pre-design criteria package for the total design and rebuild of the parking garage. The proposed project returned with an estimated cost of nearly $85 million to complete.
At the time, the commissioners’ consensus leaned toward directing staff to explore private-public partnership opportunities to help alleviate some of the cost burden of the garage’s rebuild while diversifying its design to provide more than merely parking facilities.
Though an ITN was never opened in 2024, in May of this year, commissioners unanimously approved the purchase of an additional east campus county administration building in Lakewood Ranch.
A staff presentation provided for commissioners before the purchase was approved included a PowerPoint slide noting a probable future ITN being opened for the garage’s redevelopment.
The purchase and renovation of the 101,312-square-foot office building at 9000 Town Center Parkway have an estimated total cost of $34.8 million, which will be funded by transferring all funds allocated for the downtown parking garage’s reconstruction project.
A representative of the county confirmed the closing for the purchase of the Lakewood Ranch property is proceeding on schedule and is anticipated to occur “on or before” September 1, 2025.
The county’s ITN for the downtown redevelopment project, including the parking garage, was opened on August 1.
Additional properties included in the ITN are the employee fitness center (formerly known as the Merrill Lynch Building), the former Central Records Building, the old GTE communication building, and a vacant parking lot located beside the parking garage and communication building.
Project site image as provided in Manatee County ITN No. 25-002
The site addresses are recorded as 414 10th Street West, 1002 Manatee Avenue West, 1007 4th Avenue West, 1009 4th Avenue West, and 1001 4th Avenue West, in Bradenton.
The parcels are located within the City of Bradenton and total 1.67 acres. Current zoning designations are primarily planned-development commercial (PD-C), with a smaller portion designated for light manufacturing (LM).
The county is seeking proposals from non-profit or for-profit organizations that have the financial and organizational capacity to develop the properties by “providing a cost-efficient and innovative development to the community,” according to the ITN.
“The project is designed to create a vibrant, integrated community space,” it reads.
Proposals must include a minimum of 407 parking spaces for county staff of the administration building, 28 spaces for the nearby Hampton Inn (which currently park in the parking lot parcel included in the ITN), and 190 spaces for public use. However, the ITN notes that 2,000 parking spaces are the preferred total for a proposed project design.
The due date for submitting proposals is October 9 at 3:00 p.m. EST.
The deadline to submit questions, inquiries, or seek clarification or additional information regarding the ITN is September 9 at 3:00 p.m. EST. All questions should be directed to the Manatee County Property Acquisition Division.
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