Bradenton Area Convention Center gets $48M makeover to match Palmetto Marriott hotel

A decades-long dream to marry a major hotel with the Bradenton Area Convention Center is quickly becoming reality.

The 252-room, eight-story Marriott Palmetto Resort and Spa is scheduled to open in April.

Complementing the hotel is a $48 million project to renovate and expand the Bradenton Area Convention Center. Completion is forecast for the second quarter of 2025.

When both projects are completed, the two buildings will be seamlessly connected via a climate-controlled corridor.

Built in 1985 and last updated in 2007, the convention center at 1 Haben Blvd. will get a new look, new finishes and a new 14,000 square-foot ballroom, seating 900. Staff will be able to split the ballroom into two equal sections for smaller events.

The Manatee County Commission approved the $48 million project in April 2023.

$48 million convention center upgrade

Two additional outdoor event spaces will be available for other events. The exhibit hall is set for new paint and epoxy for the existing flooring.

Planned are new textures and colors reflecting Manatee County’s natural environment: driftwood, turquoise waters, sugar-sand beaches and boating.

Footing the bill for convention center upgrades: tourism taxes that visitors pay when lodging in Manatee County.

The new complex will be able to attract retreats, corporate meetings, trade shows and conventions, said Elliott Falcione, Manatee County’s tourism director.

A spin-off benefit of the convention-hotel complex is that as many as 74% of the first-time visitors could become repeat visitors, Falcione said.

“This project is vital to our ongoing urban core redevelopment efforts which will provide an estimated economic impact of $25 million to $30 million annually to the community,” Falcione said.

“We are also committed to keeping the convention center’s main area open for public events during construction,” he said.

Marriott Palmetto Resort & Spa

The hotel at 600 U.S. 41 N. will include the Oyster River Rooftop restaurant and the ground-level The Social restaurant as well as three separate kitchens.

Other features include 10,000 square feet of meeting space, a 15,000-square-foot pool deck, a 45,000-square-foot outdoor event space called “The Yard,” a 2,400-square-foot outdoor amphitheater and a fitness center.

Across the street at Riviera Dunes, the Beach Club is planned with pickleball courts, a nine-hole putting green, a lap pool, a bourbon lounge and other amenities.

“The Bradenton-area downtown core has untapped potential with its beautiful waterfront combined with its quaint historic charm,” said Tony DeRusso, managing director of Indevelopment Partners, LLC.

“With the hotel being in such close proximity to downtown Bradenton and Anna Maria Island, Palmetto is truly the ideal location for this world-class resort, further creating a vibrant and exciting conference and convention destination,” DeRusso said.

Greg Ciaccio, general manager of the Marriott Palmetto Resort & Spa, said the hotel is establishing relationships with a dozen or more local businesses to provide everything from bakery goods to farm produce.

In addition, the hotel will welcome the public to special events, including Easter egg hunts, movie nights, food truck rallies and seasonal events, he said.

Palmetto Marriott set to open in April

Palmetto Mayor Shirley Groover Bryant said the hotel-convention center idea has been decades in the making.

“Now all the stars have aligned,” Bryant said.

The hotel-convention center complex represents 300,000 square feet of space, Ciaccio said.

A crew of 180 to 200 workers are on the hotel site every day, getting it ready to open in April, he said.

At opening, the hotel is expected to have a staff of about 200.

Still to come in the future are 25,000 square feet of retail space and a second, smaller hotel of 121 rooms, Ciaccio said.