County Building Could Provide Temp Offices for City of Bradenton

By Lisa Neff

Bradenton officials needing a temporary city hall by early 2027 are eyeing a potentially move-in-ready space at Manatee County’s administration building.

The city plans to relocate its police department and other municipal operations from the City Centre to make way for a multimillion-dollar development that includes construction of a hotel.

Demolition for the development project is expected to start in the first quarter of 2027. While construction already is underway for a new police headquarters, with completion expected late this winter, officials haven’t finalized a temporary city hall location.

“We don’t have a specific timeline yet,” city public information manager Tiffany Shadik said July 21. “As discussions continue, and the item comes back before council, we’ll have a better idea of when a temporary location will be finalized.”

She confirmed the city is working with the county to lease space to occupy two floors in the administration building, 1112 Manatee Ave. W.

“With the summer meeting schedule, there have been fewer opportunities for city council to discuss the item publicly,” Shadik said. “As council returns to its regular meeting schedule, we anticipate the item will come back for discussion in the near future.”

Before the summer scheduling shift, the council held a workshop that included a conversation about city hall.

City administrator Rob Perry introduced the issue, noting that several options for a temporary location have been explored, considering ease of occupancy, costs and accommodations for staff and the public.

“One of the best options is really the Manatee County building,” Perry said during the May 6 workshop. “They’re looking at a couple of different floors that they’d provide at very, very economically favorable” terms.

He didn’t detail terms but added, “It’s in pretty decent shape and laid out pretty well. Your offices would be very appropriate for elected officials. I think the office space itself is quite functional.”

Perry said such a move would keep city hall downtown and support the continued expansion of businesses.

Bradenton Mayor Gene Brown showed enthusiasm: “The opportunity with these two floors right now — one whole floor and one partial floor — would be unbelievable.”

Councilwoman Jayne Kocher said she appreciated the efficiency of such an arrangement. “If it goes well, I don’t know that I’m opposed to it being a permanent thing,” she said.

But city officials have other ideas about a permanent city hall.

Perry said an efficient, economical approach would be to design a rectangular, three-story building with more than 40,000 square feet that could fit on multiple downtown properties.

“The goal has always been to keep it in the downtown core somewhere,” Brown said of city hall.

Councilwoman Lisa Gonzalez Moore asked about the building design. “Does it fit? I mean I obviously want to be economical for sure … but I have to say that I don’t want it to look bad.”

Councilwoman Marianne Barnebey added, “Nobody wants a big tin shed.” Perry answered, “No doubt, but at the same time, the public doesn’t want a Taj Mahal either. From the taxpayer basis, we would do everything we could to strike the right balance and present something acceptable to you all.”