Jail sale

Bernard Croghan hopes to spend a good chunk of the next few years in jail — by choice.

A Manatee County developer who has mostly leased shared services space for the past 15 years, Croghan isn't going to be locked up. He and his team instead seek to turn the abandoned Manatee County jail, in downtown Bradenton in the new Judicial Center complex, into a 100-unit apartment complex geared to young professionals. “I've always liked urban redevelopment more than suburban new development,” Croghan says. “And I've always wanted to do one in downtown Bradenton.”

Modeled a little after WeWork and WeLive's dorm-like live-work-play centers in big urban centers such as Washington, D.C., and New York City, the plan is to complement the complex with millennial-fueled amenities. That includes a laundry room that doubles as a recreation room with a TV and dining tables. It also includes turning the rooftop, a onetime prisoner basketball court, into a courtyard barbecue deck.