Commercial Truck Insurance in Bradenton, FL

A 242-unit garden-style luxury apartment complex called Madison Bradenton could become the first new development at the defunct DeSoto Square Mall property.

The new Bradenton apartments would be built on a 7.5-acre site at 302 Cortez Road W., southeast of the former Sears store, according to permitting paperwork filed recently with Manatee County Development Services.

The former Sears department store building is now a self-storage operation called Go Store It. According to an aerial site map, the complex would be built in the mall’s existing parking lot area.

The project description, “Inlet Properties - at Old DeSoto Mall,” calls for four-story apartments to be built on the property at an estimated cost of $47.8 million. The Bradenton Herald first reported Inlet Property’s plans in May 2023.

Inlet’s web page describes the company as “a boutique real estate development company.” The Vero Beach-based company also says it specializes in “ground-up multifamily development.”

The Bradenton Sears store closed in 2018. A year later, three business entities, identified as MCG Bradenton Sears LLC, VCP Bradenton Sears LLC and Nauset Bradenton Sears LLC, all with a Charlotte, North Carolina, address bought the Sears property.

Capitol Corporate Services Inc. of Tallahassee is listed by Sunbiz, the Florida Division of Corporations’ web page, as the registered agent, and Ryan Hanks as the manager. Hanks is the founder and CEO of Madison Capital Group, LLC.

Madison Capital’s primary focuses are in the self-storage and multi-family sectors, according to Hanks’ LinkedIn Page.

CRJ Bradenton LLC bought the bulk of the DeSoto Square property — 58 acres — at 303 301 Blvd. W. in 2022 for $25.7 million.

Nashville businessman Charles R. Jones and his daughter, Lynn Golden, previously said they envision the property being divided into smaller pieces and redeveloped with residential housing and retail space. Portions of the property would be sold off to other developers.

In a recent phone interview with the Bradenton Herald, Golden said CRJ continues to work with other potential developers to bring more multi-family housing units to the area. Some of it could be workforce housing, she added.

In addition, CRJ is working toward reserving some of the parcels along Ninth Street West and 301 Boulevard for retail, Golden said.

“Our goal is to get some additional good restaurants there to meet the lunch traffic demand,” she said.

Although CRJ had initially considered demolition of all of the mall buildings, some of the companies that CRJ has been in talks with have expressed a preference for using part of the existing structure, she said.

“We believe in benevolent capitalism where people can earn equity in the property they are leasing if they stay in it for a certain time,” Jones told the Bradenton Herald in 2022.

After years of declining business and the flight of tenants, DeSoto Square’s previous owner, Romspen U.S. Master Mortgage LP, acquired the property for $20 million in an online bankruptcy auction in October 2021.

Romspen foreclosed on New York-based Meyer Lebovitz in 2018 for defaulting on a $21.9 million loan.

Lebovitz, who purchased the property in April 2017 for $22.8 million, had announced ambitious plans for revitalizing the mall, most of which never materialized.

The mall, which opened in 1973, closed its doors in 2021, except for Hudson Furniture, which continues to do business there. Other companies operating on the property include Hungry Howie’s and Firestone.

This story was originally published March 26, 2024, 11:15 AM.

A new plan to bring 312 units of multi-family housing, with more than 25% designated as affordable, is being fast-tracked by Manatee County Government.

The planned development on 18 acres at 6350 Prospect Road is on land zoned for agricultural uses. The project would require the Manatee County Commission to approve a rezoning request to allow for residential construction.

“The project would provide much-needed affordable housing in an area that is close to employment opportunities and public transportation,” according to the filing with Manatee County Development Services.

The cost of monthly rent for this new affordable housing complex has not been determined yet. As a general rule of thumb, affordable housing should cost no more than 30% of a resident’s income for rent or mortgage payments.

Due to the shortage of affordable housing in the Bradenton area, Manatee County Government prioritizes the processing of affordable housing developments.

The developer of the project has not been identified.

“The staff has only completed one round of review for this project and comments were returned to the applicant less than a week ago, so it’s too early to tell when the hearings will be,” Bill Logan, the county’s information outreach director, said in an email.

“The applicant is the engineering firm, so a known developer is not known,” Logan said.

A Michael Saunders & Company for sale sign on the property shows that it is under contract. A representative with the real estate company declined to identify the buyer.

The heavily wooded property is south of Saunders Road and is bounded by the Pearce Canal on the west.

Improvements to Saunders Road are currently being designed and permitted by Manatee County Government. Saunders Road is also known as 63rd Avenue East.

Other affordable housing projects in the works, as previously reported by the Bradenton Herald, include:

▪ The 606-unit Amara multifamily housing project, which includes at least 152 units of affordable housing, won unanimous approval from the Manatee County Commission in January.

Amara is planned on a 20-acre parcel at 3308 Lena Road, about one mile south of State Road 64. The developer is New York City-based WB Property Group.

▪ The Nest, with 182 apartments, is being built on the vacant five- acre lot immediately next to the existing 240-unit Robins Apartments, just south of U.S. 301 on First Street East. Mark Vengroff, managing partner of One Stop Housing, said his organization plans to open The Nest by the end of 2025. Sign up for the waiting list at https://onestophousing.com/the-nest-apartments-bradenton.

▪ The Sawgrass Ridge project planned north of Moccasin Wallow Road at 10500 Carter Road would have 1,103 residential units with a minimum of 275 those being designated as affordable.

The property owner, McClure Properties, Ltd., has a contract to sell the vacant land to KC Sawgrasss LLC, which lists Casto Net Lease Properties, LLC and The Kolter Group LLC of Tampa as managers.

▪ Bradenton Project LLC of Summerville, S.C., plan to build a 96-unit apartment complex at 2008 53rd Ave. E. in Oneco. The project, which would include four buildings with 24 units each, received affordable/workforce housing eligibility on June 23.

▪ 301 Flats with 324 units of family housing and The Savoy at 301 with 248 units of senior housing units of multi-family affordable housing, are planned for 4505 12th St. Ct. E. The developer is Oneco 51 Family Gp LLC of Santa Monica, Calif.

▪ Whitfield Estates LLC plans to build 192 one- and two-bedroom units on 10 acres in the 7200 block of 12th Street East.

▪ The Nine20 Manatee apartments, planned for 137 units, with rents ranging from about $1,300 for a one-bedroom unit to $1,600 for a two-bedroom unit, are under construction at 920 Manatee Ave. W., Bradenton.

▪ Oneco Living Apartments, a three-story development, is planned for 94 rental units on 5.3 acres of vacant land just north of State Road 70. The majority of the units will be rented at market rate, but 24 of those apartments in the 5100 block of 18th Street Court East will be designated affordable housing.

▪ Hope Village, dedicated to keeping at-risk parents housed and on the path to economic independence, is planned by Help to Home, a local nonprofit organization and homeless resource group. Envisioned are at least 53 apartment units on 4.8 acres at 1825 30th Ave. W. in Bradenton.

▪ Housing Trust Group is building a five-story, 120-unit complex for seniors on the northwest corner of Ninth Street West and 23rd Avenue West in Bradenton.

▪ The Met, a $31 million workforce housing project, will include 199 units of eco-friendly apartments on a three-acre site at 1405 14th St., Bradenton.

▪ A workforce housing community of about 400 units is being pursued by a partnership of local businesses, One Stop Housing and the Bradenton Area Economic Development Corporation. A location and timeline have not been announced.

▪ The Mitchell at Palmetto, an 183-unit apartment complex with at least 25% of units classified as affordable, is planned for 9025 U.S. 41 N., Palmetto. The apartments would be built on a 9.16-acre triangular parcel between Bayshore Road, 89th Street East and U.S. 41.

▪ Riverview6, an 80-unit affordable housing complex by Housing Trust Group on the southeast corner of Sixth Avenue West and Ninth Street West near downtown Bradenton is set to open this summer.

▪ The Addison, a 90-unit complex, 702 Sixth Ave. E., Bradenton, and Oaks at Lakeside a 96-unit complex at 5260 34th Street Cir. E., Bradenton, were developed by Housing Trust Group.

▪ The Sandpiper Place Apartments, 4605 26th St. W., Bradenton, opened Feb. 15, 2022, with all 92 units rented, and a waiting list of more than 800 people.

This story was originally published March 6, 2024, 5:50 AM.

A new sculpture of the historic Manatee River is coming to Mineral Springs Park in Bradenton.

The sculpture, “The Singing River,” draws on the Manatee River’s folklore and history. City officials say the planned sculpture will sit above the walkway along the Riverwalk East extension.

“In Native American legend, the Manatee River, dividing line between the Calusa and Timucuan peoples, was known as the ‘Singing River’ because of the most beautiful and lovely music it mysteriously made on certain moons,” according to Manatee County’s website.

The artwork, which will cost $350,000, is expected to debut next spring at Mineral Springs Park, 1312 Second Ave. E., Bradenton.

Jean Farmer, the city’s public art coordinator, believes the sculpture will create a little magic in the park. She hopes it will make visitors curious to learn about the humming river.

“There’s only about a handful of these rivers anywhere in the world,” Farmer said.

She also wants the artwork to honor the river’s history. An archaeological dig in 2020 revealed how Angolan settlers in the 19th century lived in Bradenton and added new importance to the site.

“It’s important that we get it right because it’s a very special spot,” Farmer said.

Reinaldo Correa, the artist who created the sculpture, set out to capture what makes the city unique and picturesque. The artwork, which will hang in the sky like a canopy, will offer a gorgeous view of the Manatee River.

“It’s encouraging viewers to pause, but ultimately, to continue their journey towards the river,” Correa said.

There’s no doubt that visitors will slow down and look up at the sculpture, which will catch the colors of the sunset and appear to glow at night.

It is meant to leave visitors in awe, Farmer said.

“A city needs places where it can see its past and future,” she said. “Art is something that moves people. I would like to see people experience it and enjoy it. I hope they feel proud of it and want to share it with others.”

It was once called “Oyster River.”

Historical records highlight how shellfish once lined vast acres of the Manatee River that flows between Bradenton and Palmetto into the Gulf of Mexico and Lower Tampa Bay. Today, several local organizations and government agencies are working together to bring the oysters back and boost local water quality.

“I didn’t really associate the Manatee River with a lot of oysters. As I started digging in deeper, I found out I was wrong for the most interesting reasons ever,” says Damon Moore, founder and executive director of Oyster River Ecology.

Manatee River’s oyster reefs were numerous until near the end of the 1800s, Moore says. They were also likely bursting with life.

Today, we know that the many benefits of healthy oyster beds include stabilizing shorelines, filtering water, allowing seagrass to thrive and providing habitat for marine life like fish, crabs and shorebirds.

But where did all the oysters go?

As with most imbalances in the environment, the problem was people taking too much.

Moore found newspaper articles, government reports and firsthand accounts that pieced together how oysters were removed from the river by the shipload for food, paving roads and large-scale commercial harvest for building material in the 19th and 20th centuries.

A report from the United States Fish Commission, a precursor to NOAA Fisheries, outlined the decline quite plainly. A bounty of “oysters, oysters everywhere” in 1876 dwindled to “partially or totally depleted” by 1897.

“This is a resource that, at a large scale, was taken out of the river between 1875 and 1900,” Moore says of oysters. “We lost a major resource before most of our grandparents were born.”

Local efforts have already shown that oyster restoration can work on a small scale.

An oyster reef installation project in Perico Bayou facilitated by Manatee County Government, Sarasota Bay and Tampa Bay Estuary Programs is now thriving, according to Sherri Swanson, the county’s ecological and marine resources division manager.

“It’s completely created from scratch,” Swanson said. “If you go out to that bar at low tide there’s blue crabs, conchs, wading birds. It’s just teeming with life.”

Moore founded his nonprofit in 2022 with a simple mission: ratcheting up local oyster restoration on a large scale, as fast as possible.

“The science is already there to support this. We don’t need to research more, we need to do it,” Moore says.

The research shows that oysters provide the literal bedrock of a healthy waterway. Places that have begun restoring oysters, like the Mid-Atlantic’s Chesapeake Bay, are already seeing the benefits.

They include removing thousands of fertilizer bags worth of nutrients from the water, increasing survival rates of commercially important blue crabs and increasing food and habitat for a variety of marine life, according to NOAA.

Moore’s nonprofit finds ways to get the whole community in on the restoration process, from education talks to field trips and hands-on volunteer work.

He’s also working with Manatee County Government to develop a master plan for oyster restoration.

Now comes a step that’s been years in the making.

With the planting of a 10-acre oyster bed set to begin in the coming weeks, Moore hopes to show that restoring the shellfish to their rightful home in the Manatee River can start making a difference right now — in local water quality, wildlife and ecosystem health.

Oyster beds won’t thrive just anywhere.

They grow best in a “Goldilocks” zone, Moore says — not too fresh, not too salty. Predators with a taste for oysters lurk in saltier water, preventing them from establishing large beds.

Using historical info, modern aerial maps and the locations of the few remaining oyster beds in the Manatee River, Moore and Manatee County staff identified potential areas for starting new oyster beds.

Then they scouted in person to pinpoint the ideal spots. For Moore, that meant weeks of being pulled along by rope behind a boat and dunking below the surface to inspect the riverbed.

What’s next? Laying a foundation.

Oyster beds grow generation by generation, with new layers of shellfish forming on top of the old ones.

The problem is, much of that old substrate was lost to dredging.

“They’ve lost that self-sustaining ability,” said Charlie Hunsicker, Manatee County’s Natural Resources Director.

Oysters have found ways to survive in smaller numbers in the Manatee River, where they can be found growing on mangrove roots, old tires, crab traps and power poles.

All that’s missing is a hard surface on the river bed for oyster larvae to attach to, grow and begin the process of establishing a healthy reef.

A single female oyster can release millions of eggs, according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. So given the right conditions, oysters can come back fast.

The solution is introducing a new surface for oysters to grow on. Old shell is an ideal, natural candidate.

But it’s also hard to come by, and expensive.

A program to recycle shells from local seafood restaurants is providing one reliable source, but it won’t be enough for large-scale restoration, Moore says.

For now, the most affordable solution he’s found is what he calls “vertical oyster garden anchors.”

It’s his own spin on an oyster propagating method that has been practiced from China to South Carolina, in which old shells are drilled through the center and then placed on a metal stake that can be planted in the river bed.

As baby oysters land on the old shell and grow, they eventually fall to the bottom of the riverbed and form the beginning of a new oyster reef.

“They’re often called ecosystem engineers because they build the habitats themselves,” Moore said. “So I’m saying, let’s put them to work.”

The Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services recently permitted Moore to begin oyster restoration on a 10-acre site in the Manatee River east of the Interstate 75 overpass and the mouth of the Braden River.

Close by, Manatee County Government has a 6-acre plot permitted.

“This is the first aquaculture restoration lease in the entire state dedicated to oysters,” Moore says with pride.

He plans to begin planting oysters in April.

The Tampa Bay Estuary Program, part of the National Estuary Program instituted to improve water quality, including in the Manatee River, has set a target of restoring 300 acres of local oyster beds by 2050.

Manatee County staff say they will contribute as many acres as possible to that goal.

Hunsicker said the county has about $2 million slated for efforts to improve water quality, including oyster restoration, that is almost entirely funded by grants.

Swanson said the county will soon begin a pilot oyster-planting project, and they expect to add 10-20 more acres of oyster restoration in the Manatee River by summer 2025.

Moore estimates that the Manatee River could eventually support over 400 acres of oyster restoration. But that will require continued funding from grants and support from government leaders.

“It’s a part of the solution. But it’s not the whole solution by any means,” Moore says.

Oysters can filter some of the nutrients that feed harmful algal bloom out of the water. Widely cited research says that a single adult oyster can filter up to 50 gallons per day, but the number in the wild is between 3 and 12 gallons a day, FWC says.

“Regardless of what that actual number is, if you’re putting enough of them out there, there is definitely a benefit of increased water filtration,” Moore says.

Some of the nutrients are stored in their tissue, but they create a waste product that is still nutrient-rich, Moore says.

But that’s where the beauty of the oyster reef habitat comes into play. Healthy oyster reefs support bacteria that can break down the oyster waste and convert the nitrogen it contains into a form that is unavailable for red tide algae to use as fuel.

Local environmental organizations and municipalities are eagerly jumping on board with oyster restoration efforts.

In addition to Manatee County, Bradenton and Palmetto have also invested in restoration projects.

The Tampa Bay and Sarasota Bay Estuary Programs are also pitching in.

“Oysters are fantastic for fishing because a lot of small fish are attracted to oysters, and the filtering is really important too,” Sarasota Bay Estuary Program executive director Dave Tamasko said. “Once you get oysters really fired up in a place, they create even more oyster reefs.”

Oyster restoration has also found bipartisan political support, from the county commission to federal representatives.

“It’s a feel-good project, but it’s also a quality of life project,” said Commissioner Kevin Van Ostenbridge, who commended county staff for their work to restore the oyster population.

“It’ll help clean up the bay in our region. It’s not going to clean everything up, but it’ll make a difference,” Rep. Vern Buchanan said last year during a tour of local hatchery Two Dock Shellfish.

Locals who live on the water can also help in a small way by installing a vertical oyster garden off of their dock.

941-745-7024

Ryan Ballogg is a news reporter and features writer at the Bradenton Herald. Since joining the paper in 2018, his work has received awards from the Florida Society of News Editors and the Florida Press Club. Ryan is a Florida native and graduated from University of South Florida St. Petersburg.

A new player to the Manatee County grocery scene is coming to the Bradenton area.

Whole Foods Market plans a store in the Market Place at Heritage Harbour shopping center.

The shopping center, on the northeast corner of Interstate 75 and State Road 64, is also home to a Costco store. A 150,000-square-foot Target store is also planned there.

“We can confirm this store is in development. We do not have any additional information to share at this time,” a Whole Foods communications specialist said in an email.

Whole Foods Market started in Austin, Texas, in 1980 with an emphasis on natural and organic foods, sustainable agriculture and high quality standards.

There are now more than 500 retail and non-retail locations in the U.S., Canada and the United Kingdom.

Currently, the closest Whole Foods Market to Manatee County is a store in 40,000 square feet of space at 5298 University Parkway in Sarasota County.

When the store opened in 2018, it was one of the first under the ownership of Amazon.

At its opening, the University Parkway store employed a staff of approximately 180. It was the second Whole Foods Market in Sarasota County. The first is at 1451 First Street, Sarasota.

Whole Foods Market also plans to open a store on Wednesday, Feb. 28, at 201 38th Ave. N., St, Petersburg.

Features of the new St. Pete store include a full-service seafood counter, specialty cheese department, a full-service meat counter, more than 180 craft beers, prepared foods department featuring pizza, in-house charcuterie, sushi, hot food and salad bars, bakery and an assortment of wellness and beauty items.

“All food at Whole Foods Market must meet the company’s rigorous Quality Standards, which prohibit hydrogenated fats, high-fructose corn syrup and more than 300 flavors, colors, sweeteners and other ingredients commonly found in food,” according to the company web page.

“In addition, all beauty and body care products must meet the company’s body care standards, which ban more than 240 commonly used ingredients, including phthalates, parabens and microbeads,” the company said.

The Market Place at Heritage Harbour shopping center is experiencing major growth. Costco opened there in August 2019. Followed by Miller’s Ale House in November. The shopping center is being developed by Piscataway, New Jersey-based Edgewood Properties.

The concept plan map on Edgewood web page also shows that leases are pending there for a 62,996-square-foot sporting goods store, a 55,000-square-foot arts and crafts store, a 3,900-square-foot breakfast/brunch cafe, a 2,800-square-foot Chinese restaurant, a 7,182-square-foot restaurant/wine bar and a 5,400-square-foot casual steakhouse.

This story was originally published February 20, 2024, 12:15 PM.