Development project on lockdown

An unusual project to turn empty jail cells in downtown Bradenton into apartments for young professionals could be dead before it ever really gets going.

The project stems from an invitation Manatee County officials sent out to area developers earlier this year. Officials sought ideas on how to repurpose the long vacant six-story jail, which is next to the Judicial Center complex in the heart of Bradenton.

Bernard Croghan, the only developer to respond, submitted a plan that centers around 100 apartment units designed to attract millennials. Croghan's plan includes a laundry room that doubles as a recreation room and turning the rooftop, a onetime prisoner basketball court, into a courtyard barbecue deck. The project would have been at least a $9 million investment.

Some county officials publicly praised the creativity of the project, with proposed rents of $600 to $900 a month. Ogden Clark, co-founder of the Manatee Millennial Movement and a Manatee County Neighborhood Services employee, says the conversion would mark the first affordable housing project for young people in the core of downtown.

But three top Manatee County officials, in a Nov. 3 letter, put some dents in the plan. The letter is from Manatee County Sheriff Brad Steube and is co-signed by Manatee Clerk of the Circuit Court Angelina “Angel” Colonneso and 12th Judicial Circuit Court Chief Judge Charles Williams.

The gist of the letter: There are at least 10 reasons, mostly related to security issues, that this project, as currently designed, can't work. The first issue the letter cites is inmates being transported to the judicial center would be too close to the apartment building entrance. Extra security needs, noise control and propane on the rooftops are other issues cited in the letter, sent to Manatee County Administrator Ed Hunzeker and Manatee County Commission Chairwoman Vanessa Baugh.

Manatee County spokesman Nick Azzara says the county remains hopeful Croghan can address the concerns in the letter and go forward with the project. That includes several more approval stages.

But Croghan, who has spent the past 15 years developing mostly office and co-work space projects, isn't so sure he can, or will move forward. He says he was blindsided by the letter, and at least in semantics, it doesn't accurately represent the project, calling the units condos, not apartments. He also says if he knew about these concerns, he could have addressed them before he spent the time and money on the proposal. “At this point there's nothing I can do,” Croghan tells Coffee Talk.
“The project is shut down.”