Manatee County buys property for utilities complex, following approval of veteran housing

James A. Jones Jr.
·2 min read

To make way for a planned 122-unit apartment complex to house unhoused veterans, the Manatee County Utilities Administration Building will move about a mile east on Cortez Road.

Earlier this month, the Manatee County Commission unanimously gave its approval to donate land for a project that would provide wraparound services at 4410 66th St. W. — now home base for the utilities department — to aid veterans who are homeless or at risk of homelessness.

Tunnel to Towers Foundation will acquire the 8.7-acre parcel and invest $20 million there, the Bradenton Herald has reported.

This week, SVN Commercial Advisory Group announced the $3.25 million sale of a vacant 20,806-square-foot office building on 3.7 acres in Wildewood Professional Park at 3647 Cortez Road W.

The buyer: Manatee County government.

“This will be the new utilities administration office building,” Bill Logan, the county’s information outreach manager, said in an email.

The Manatee County Utilities Administration building at 4410 66th Street West where plans have been discussed to build a Veteran’s Village.
The Manatee County Utilities Administration building at 4410 66th Street West where plans have been discussed to build a Veteran’s Village.

“The plan is to begin relocation from the current facility at 66th Street this winter,” Logan said.

Tony Veldkamp and Matt Fenske of SVN Commercial Advisory Group represented the seller and landlord, Fullerton Bradenton Wildewood, LLC of Williamsville, N.Y.

Veldkamp and Fenske had previously sold Fullerton Bradenton Wildewood the complex and found tenants for office space within the 12-building business park over the past two years.

The property had a long-term lease with Verisk Analytics, a publicly traded tenant listed on NASDAQ.

“However, the lease only had a few years remaining and Manatee County wanted the building for their own use. So the brokers simultaneously negotiated a lease termination with the tenant, as well as the purchase agreement with the county,” according to an SVN statement.

Veldkamp and Fenske worked with the seller and the buyer in this transaction.

To make way for a planned 122-unit apartment complex to house homeless veterans, the Manatee County Utilities Administration Building will be moving about a mile east to 3647 Cortez Road W., shown above.
To make way for a planned 122-unit apartment complex to house homeless veterans, the Manatee County Utilities Administration Building will be moving about a mile east to 3647 Cortez Road W., shown above.

Tunnel to Towers plans 84 studio or one-bedroom apartment units and 34 “comfort homes,” 525-square-foot standalone units, on the property at 4410 66th St. W. The organization plans to demolish the county’s existing administration building build the apartment complex.

Bradenton Herald staff writer Ryan Callihan contributed to this report.