May 5, 2025
(The Herald-Tribune)
–
Manatee County
could soon be moving services offered at its administrative building in downtown
Bradenton
to
Lakewood Ranch
, a project that could cost about
$34.8 million
.
Manatee County
commissioners will consider the
$23.5 million
purchase of 11.28 acres in
Lakewood Ranch
during a public meeting Tuesday. If the purchase is approved, they would earmark nearly
$35 million
for the land purchase and any construction or remodeling costs.
The decision comes as the county faces a big investment to replace the administration building's parking garage due to safety concerns. At an
April 2023
county meeting, a former commissioner said "we know have
$30 million
in the bank; that's a starting point." It also comes as the county sits on vacant land purchased for
$32.5 million
in 2020 for future county facilities. It is next to the county landfill.
Relevant: Contentious plans to sell
Manatee County
's
Lena Road
property advance
More about the parking garage: This week in
Manatee
: New pools for Premier,
Bradenton
convention center upgrades, and parking garage woes
County administration, property management and development services staff visited the site to evaluate it's potential as a suitable replacement for the existing county administration building in downtown
Bradenton
, according to records included with the meeting agenda. However the proposal has not been discussed publicly.
Located at
9000 Town Center Parkway
, the property features a two-story building that offers 101,312 square feet of office space currently leased to two tenants −
TriNet
and the
Federal Emergency Management Agency. FEMA
's lease ends on
Nov. 1
, and has one three-month extension option upon 30 days written notice.
TriNet
's lease will be terminated prior to closing on
Sept. 1
.
Two local residents have already submitted written public comment on the proposal.
Mike Adams
emailed commissioners to question whether the move truly benefits the general public.
"Is the plan to relocate all county government services (currently downtown) to a remote location in an extremely high traffic area and tell us it will better serve the people's needs?" Adams asked in his email. "Can someone please explain how this benefits the public?"
Now retired, former
Manatee County
floodplain manager
Sandy Tudor
submitted comment questioning whether the proposal faces a similar fate as other efforts to relocate county services away from downtown
Bradenton
.
"The proposal to move some county services to the east came up several times," Tudor commented. "The one in North County on
U.S. 301
didn't last and building is now only Emergency Services where when opened (Building & Development Services) was also there. I am not against this item, just question if they could have found one more centrally located such as along SR 70, not this close to
University Parkway
.
"If I lived in North County or in
Cortez
, I would hate having to travel to this building. Personally, I don't like the diverging diamond at
I-75
. I realize building permits are online as are development permits, but other services are not online," she said.
This article originally appeared on
Sarasota Herald-Tribune
:
Manatee County
could decide moving government offices from
Bradenton
to
Lakewood Ranch
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