The City of Bradenton and its Community Redevelopment Agency are prepared to invest millions of dollars into a university building in downtown Bradenton.
Pittsburgh-based Point Park University and the City of Bradenton recently announced plans to bring a satellite campus, focused on performing arts, to downtown Bradenton, and the City of Bradenton could spend up to $5 million to help attract the university to downtown.
The university, which has about 3,600 students, is known for its Conservatory for Performing Arts. At a recent Manatee County Commission meeting, commissioners approved the transfer of the former General Telephone (GTE) Building, valued at $1.2 million, to the City of Bradenton. The building, located at 1009 Fourth Avenue W., could be the first building for the Point Park University campus.
However, it would first need “substantial” renovations. According to a draft memorandum of understanding between the City, CRA and Point Park University, the university plans to use the three-story building for “specialized and flexible instructional environments for dance, acting, movement, voice, music, musical theatre, and related performing arts disciplines.”