The Bradenton City Council approved a contract on May 28 to hire Dover Kohl & Partners (with urban economics partner PES) to prepare an Urban Renewal Action Plan for the city and identify three “special area” plans, city staff said.

The contract approved by a 5–0 vote covers a base fee of $179,640 plus reimbursable expenses not to exceed $20,000, for a project total not to exceed $199,640. The consultant team proposes an approximately eight‑month schedule beginning in June, with research and site visits in the summer and final plan materials in January–February.

City economic development staff and the Bradenton Area Economic Development Corporation (EDC) described the scope as research and synthesis of prior studies, targeted economic analysis, three focused special-area concepts, visualizations for developers, and a short list of “day‑one” implementation actions. Victor Dover and Andrew Georgiadis presented examples of similar downtown and waterfront projects and emphasized translating community desires into investment-ready choices for developers and funders. Michelle Hillstrom of the Bradenton Area EDC told council the EDC will be actively engaged in oversight and implementation.

Council members pressed the consultants on oversight, implementability, and how the plan would avoid sitting on a shelf. Dover said the team will show options early, solicit council and stakeholder feedback in iterative workshops, and focus on actions that have sufficient consensus to be “doable” soon after adoption. The EDC noted its prior strategic plans have produced measurable outcomes and said it would manage consultant engagement to keep the plan actionable.

Mayor and staff framed the work as an effort to “renew, reinvigorate and reinvest” in downtown and the riverfront, and to align the plan with ongoing capital initiatives such as City Park, Riverwalk investments and infrastructure work.

The council voted 5–0 to approve the scope and fees and directed staff to include funding for the project in the FY 2026 operating budget.