Despite $10M Offer, Bradenton Not Selling City Hall —​ Yet: Perry

BRADENTON, FL — Despite two significant offers on the table from developers who want to purchase Bradenton City Hall and the police headquarters property and redevelop the land, city leaders won’t be making any rash decisions, said City Manager Rob Perry.

In one offer, Barcarotta Development LLC offered to purchase the land that houses city hall and the Bradenton Police Department headquarters for $10 million, telling city leaders in its March 18 offer letter that they feel their plan for the land "is consistent with the vision of the city for optimal use of this area of the riverfront."

The company wants to build a signature hotel, retail, restaurants, entertainment and a mix of residential housing, including luxury apartments, condominiums and workforce housing, downtown.

Barcarotta also offered a second proposal — trading the nearby former Bradenton Herald property, which the developers are under contract to purchase, for the city hall property. The company said that if they swapped properties with the city of Bradenton, it would pay the city the difference in value between the two.

A second development company, Silver Hills, also offered to buy the land for $10 million. Though their offer letter didn’t specify their plans for the property, Perry said the developers want to build apartments downtown.

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Since he took over as city manager last year, members of Bradenton City Council have been mulling over a potential sale of the city hall and police headquarters properties out of concern that the city has outgrown the space.

Perry has done significant work behind the scenes, organizing a space study to determine future growth opportunities at city hall, if Bradenton were to continue operating the site, and having the land appraised. Appraisers valued it at $10.46 million, he said.

The two unsolicited offers from developers, both seeking community redevelopment and other government funds for their proposed projects, showed Perry how highly sought after that downtown waterfront property is.

“Because of growth and demand for high-level space down here, I would not recommend a lot of government assistance,” he said. “It puts the control in the city’s hands.”

He doesn’t think city leaders should rush to sell the land. Instead, he’s going to recommend that “we allow the world at large” to submit bids for city hall, he said. “An invitation for anyone to propose if they want to acquire the property. How would you do it? (Will you make) cash offers? What would they like to put on it and what type of assistance would you be looking for?”

Perry expects to present this option to city council for official action within 30 days.

For now, he’s continuing “to prepare the necessary diligence,” which, in addition to the appraisal and space study, includes a legal review and tax assessment of the property.

“Then, we’ll let council decide how they want to proceed,” he said.

The land is ripe for development in an area with limited options for building, said Perry.

“I’m not opposed to growth. I’m in favor of smart growth,” he added. “To me, smart growth means controlling the growth, putting in place the growth you want across the board.”

He’s also currently looking for a home to put a new Bradenton police headquarters, a project he estimates will cost around $20 million.

The city already owns several large properties, Perry said. He and his staff are reviewing them with Chief Melanie Bevan and other police department leaders to determine the best location.

High on his list is property at Sixth Avenue West and 1st Street West, near the old water tower.

“We got a big ol’ parcel there at (U.S.) 301 and 6th Avenue,” he said. “It’s also close to areas where police services are in high demand and there’s need of community policing in that area.”