Is 2011 the Year Bradenton Changed?

It’s easy to forget Bradenton is one of southwest Florida’s oldest cities. Bradenton flourished before Sarasota was even a gleam in a Scotsman’s eye.

Bradenton was founded by pioneers, not immigrants. And its honest economic virtues of fishing and agriculture stood it well in trying times, suffering far less catastrophe in the 1920s than lands to the south that relied on Yankee land deals.

In 2011 the Bradenton Downtown Development Authority  (DDA) put together two projects. One harkens back to the city’s historical roots, cutting a deal to preserve the Manatee River Hotel (AKA ‘the pink palace’). The other embraces the city’s geography along a waterway by pushing ahead with the Riverwalk project.

But in mid-2011, it looked like the hotel rehabilitation would fall through. And without a downtown hotel, it would be hard to lure out-of-towners to stay in the center of Bradenton. In late October there was a breakthrough in the negotiations, and within a month most of the details were wrapped up.

The $15 million renovation is scheduled to begin in the Spring of 2012, bringing construction workers downtown. A year later, the restoration of the 1926-era building will be finished, and the construction workers will be replaced by visitors and hotel workers.

“The Riverwalk and the Pink Palace are the big coups,” said Dave Gustafson, the director of the downtown development authority. “The Riverwalk is the 100-pound gorilla right now. What are we going to do with it?”

With care and feeding it could become the 800-pound gorilla.

“Plans are in the works right now,” he said. “We all have a lot of experience with event planning.”

While he doubts the DDA will hire a person to coordinate events, he said it would be a perfect position for an intern to juggle the demands of merchants, the city and event organizers.

Gustafson sees a time ahead when Riverwalk events will attract people by the thousands, making Bradenton a weekend destination. People booking rooms in the renovated downtown hotel, and finding other accommodations nearby.

Riverwalk facilities will accommodate skateboarders, volleyball players, competitive rowers, concerts, dances and every other kind of event that brings people together. The linear park along the river is an ideal venue, and could at long last become a signature asset for the city.

Another water feature is looming west of downtown as the dredging of Wares Creek begins in 2012. Although primarily a flood-control project, it will provide an entryway to downtown.

There are other challenges in the city, however. While the Downtown Development Authority is focused on the hotel and river, another community redevelopment agency is concerned about the Village of the Arts. Gustafson is responsible for it too.

“We have to look at areas as a whole,” he said. “We need to worry about job creation as well as events.”

Can a downtown renaissance spill south to the homes and shops of resident artists in the coming year? Gustafson wants that to happen.

“We talk about that area all the time,” he said. “It would be a dereliction of duty if we did not make sure they were a focus of our attention.”

Bridging the gap between the Riverwalk and Village of the Arts is more than bridging two redevelopment agencies.

“We need to talk about job creation as well as events,” he said. “We’ll be coordinating with Career Edge, and we want to hear from everybody.”

Any number of players are involved in this juggling exercise. But so far none are pitted against each other. Artists and skateboarders are not up against bankers and bartenders. At this moment in time, from storefront owners to urban planners to big-bucks developers, there seems to be a common goal.

In this rare environment of commonly agreed aims, 2012 looks quite promising for the City of Bradenton.