School district sells land by Braden River High

By Amanda Sebastiano
| 5:00 a.m. February 19, 2014

Siesta Key
Neighbors

EAST COUNTY — After 10 years of holding onto a 10-acre property in front of Braden River High, the Manatee County School District has decided to sell it.

Manatee County School Board members agreed Feb. 11 to accept a bid from Tim Vining, on behalf of Blackrock Development Holdings, to purchase the land for $2.95 million.

Officials say the sale will help offset the district’s budget deficit of $8 million.

Vining also purchased a 1.64-acre lot near Bayshore High School.

“We’re not in a position to hold onto this land if we aren’t using it,” School District Chairwoman Julie Aranibar said. “We committed to the state that, if we weren’t doing anything with the land by June, that we would sell it to help reduce our deficit.”

The parcel, located on the northeast corner of Caruso Road and State Road 70, has the space and zoning to be used for a range of businesses, whether a fast food restaurant chain or a clothing store.

Aranibar said she hopes whatever is developed on the property doesn’t violate any restrictions spelled out in the district’s contract with Blackrock. For example, because of the property’s proximity to Braden River High School, the land may not house a businesses deemed as “adult” in nature, such as those that sell alcohol.

Vining, a familiar name in the land-buying business, did not return calls for comment by press time Tuesday about his intentions for the property.

Vining had agreed to purchase land from the school district — the former site of a Checkers restaurant near downtown Bradenton, on Manatee Avenue — in 2013, but he later backed out of the deal.

If the deal falls through during the 60-day inspection period, it would hinder the school district’s efforts to not only satisfy the current deficit, but also have extra dollars to spare for other school needs and to replenish its emergency fund.

“That’s $8 million we currently can’t use for our students,” Aranibar said.