Doing county government business in Manatee County is primed to have an “out east” feel to it in the near future.
The reason: Manatee County commissioners unanimously approved a purchase — for $23.5 million — of a 101,312-square-foot building in Lakewood Ranch that would serve as the new county administration building. The current administration building is located in downtown Bradenton. about 15 miles northwest of the Lakewood Ranch property, at 9000 Town Center Parkway.
Commissioners approved the purchase at its May 6 meeting. Commission Chair George Kruse called the purchase a “tremendous deal” and a “unique opportunity.” He estimates the cost to build a comparable office at $40 million to $50 million, not factoring in utilities. Manatee County’s total budget to move to Town Center Parkway, officials say, is under $35 million including the purchase and renovation.
“This is a benefit to the taxpayer,” Kruse says. “We can buy it so cheap because the office market is massively depressed right now due to work at home and other reasons, which is pushing down demand for office acquisition and ability to finance office (acquisitions).”
The seller signed the intent-to-sell contract April 28. Cosing is scheduled for Sept. 1.
The matter of moving some services to the eastern part of the county, tracking population growth, has been a topic of discussion for county commissioners since 161 acres were purchased off Lena Road in 2020. The intention was to build a county complex there, but those plans fell through for a host of reasons, including covid and a changeover in elected commissioners.
The Lena Road property cost $32.5 million. The land is about 14 times larger than the proposed property on Town Center Parkway, but there’s nothing on it.
There are no immediate plans for the property next to the Lena Road Landfill, but it will be retained by the county regardless of any new plans.
While it was listed as a surplus property in 2024, at the start of the year, Commissioner Tal Siddique led the charge to remove it from the list. Commissioner Bob McCann says the county is looking at more utilitarian uses for the site — storage, garages and possibly a fueling station.
The right seats
Commissioners Carol Felts and McCann, meanwhile, both say the current county building downtown will remain in place because it lies within the “county seat,” which is defined by the Florida Constitution as where the principal offices and permanent records of all county officers are located.
Commission meetings would continue to be held in the Honorable Patricia M. Glass Chambers in the same building, but Development Services and other departments would relocate.
“It’ll save (East County residents) a lot of trips,” McCann says. “You could do permitting over here, and on top of that, I’ll have an office here. You can come see me (in Lakewood Ranch), instead of having to go all the way downtown.”
The seller of 9000 Town Center Parkway is listed on the contract as a limited liability company out of Delaware, CMHC 9000 JV LLC. The manager for the LLC is MH Commercial Real Estate Fund LLC out of West Palm Beach. MHCommercial Real Estate Fund I was founded in 2019, according to its website.
County administration conducted a site visit to the property at 9000 Town Center Parkway Jan. 30. As far as McCann knows, it was the only property considered for purchase because it’s already built and became available.
Departments scheduled to move to the east county building include public works, natural resources and human resources, among others.
Parking issues
Felts, in previous meetings, has said the county could use more space.
She cites the State Attorney’s Office. Its Manatee office is located in the administration building already, but the office would like to take over the second floor.
Felts adds that said citizens need “adequate parking” when accessing services.
According to the listing on LoopNet, the 9000 Town Center Parkway property has 615 surface parking spaces, along with covered parking. The office building opened in 1998 and was renovated in 2011.
Kruse previously expressed a similar view to Felts, when the Lena Road property was being discussed in January.
He told the East County Observer, sister paper of the Business Observer, that the limited parking downtown was only going to work for so long before the county would have to meet the population where it was and stop forcing them to travel downtown. It was merely a matter of when that shift would happen.
He noted in the same conversation that Tax Collector Ken Burton Jr. already moved east. The new East Manatee branch merged two branches into one and opened in Lakewood Ranch in September 2024.
Current tenants
The east county building is currently occupied by two tenants, each leasing one floor and about 50,000 square feet of the building.
TriNet, a Human Resources provider, is on the first floor and the Federal Emergency Management Agency is on the second floor.
The staff report states that TriNet’s lease would be terminated and the company will be vacated prior to closing on or before Sept. 1. TriNet did not respond to a request for comment.
FEMA’s lease terminates on Nov. 1, but the agency has one three-month extension upon 30 days written notice.
If FEMA stays functional under the Trump administration, McCann said FEMA will stay in the building and lease from the county.
“It’ll give (residents) better contact with FEMA,” he said. “That would be kind of nice to have FEMA, Public Works and the ability for a commissioner to walk in and say, ‘Hey, we need this now.’”
This article originally appeared on sister site YourObserver.com.
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