County Contributes $125,000 Toward Pink Palace Renovations

County Commissioners voted 6-1 to contribute $125,000 to the project to turn a decaying downtown hotel into a Hampton Inn designed to attract visitors and spur more business development downtown.

Construction has already begun on the hotel which has been a long time in the making. The public-private partnership has required incentives from the Downtown Development Authroity, the City of Bradenton and the county. 

County Commissioners voted earlier this year to donate a county parking lot to the project, which was vital to making it happen. Without the parking lot, there wasn't enough parking for the Hampton Inn to come downtown.

County Commissioner Joe McClash voted against contributing the additional $125,000.

The county will contribute about $42,000 a year over the next three years.