Bradenton apartments at DeSoto Square Mall? What we know about new development plans
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.
Apartments planned at DeSoto Square Mall
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.
What will happen to the mall?
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.
Bradenton mall’s history
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.
