Welcome to the Archives of The Paul Rudolph Institute for Modern Architecture. The purpose of this online collection is to function as a tool for scholars, students, architects, preservationists, journalists and other interested parties. The archive consists of photographs, slides, articles and publications from Goldfinger’s lifetime; physical drawings and models; personal photos and memorabilia; and contemporary photographs and articles.

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LOCATION
Address: Ballard Park Drive
City: Bradenton
State: Florida
Zip Code: 34205
Nation: United States

STATUS
Type: Commercial / Residential
Status: Project

TECHNICAL DATA
Date(s): 1990
Site Area:
Floor Area:
Height:
Floors (Above Ground):
Building Cost:

PROFESSIONAL TEAM
Client:
Architect: Myron Goldfinger
Associate Architect:
Landscape:
Structural:
MEP:
QS/PM:

SUPPLIERS
Contractor:
Subcontractor(s):

Allman Apartments

The project scope is to design a mixed use residential and commercial property.
The site includes seven parcels of land near the Ballard Park neighborhood of Bradenton, Florida.
The speculative project is designed around 1990.
Between September 2005 and June 2006, the properties are purchased by Del Ponticello LLC and 8th Avenue LLC, managed by St. Petersburg developer Robyn P. Sherma. The purchases cost $2.5 million USD and are financed with loans from Orion Bank. The properties include:
- 1630 Eighth Ave. W. - a 2,936-square-foot house Purchased by Del Ponticello LLC for $488,900 in June 2006
- 1623 Eighth Ave. W. - a 860-square-foot house Purchased by Del Ponticello LLC for $134,600 in June 2006
- 1625 Eighth Ave. W. - a 692-square-foot house Purchased by Del Ponticello LLC for $129,200 in June 2006
- 709 Eighth Ave. W. - a 1,817-square-foot duplex Purchased by Del Ponticello LLC for $135,000 in June 2006
- 1720 Ballard Park Drive - a 1,352-square-foot house Purchased by Del Ponticello LLC for $150,000 in June 2006
- 1723 Eighth Ave. W. - a 836-square-foot house Purchased by Del Ponticello LLC for $125,000 in June 2006
- 1740 Ballard Park Drive - a 4,601-square-foot apartment building. Purchased by 8th Avenue LLC for $700,000 in September 2005
In October 2009, during the Great Recession, the companies default on the loan from Orion Bank.
The Bank lists the lots for sale. City officials worry that slumlords might buy the properties and perpetuate conditions that have negatively impacted the nearly century-old neighborhood. Structures that were previously on the properties “were really run down and not worth saving,” Catherine Hartley, the city’s director of planning and community development, says. The city demolishes the buildings on the lots.
John Neal, a Lakewood Ranch-based developer, intervenes and buys the lots in April 2011 for $269,000. He holds on to the properties until the city can reimburse him. The Neals say the properties are worth $1.33 million USD which is the price that appears on the deed.
In December 2012, the Neals sell seven of the lots to the city for $284,661.
In 2018, the city of Bradenton uses lots comprising three acres at Ninth Avenue West and Ballard Park Drive to create Neal Park, which includes a kayak launch and neighborhood community garden.
In 2019 the city of Bradenton decides to sell the remaining lots in the Ballard Park neighborhood to a home builder willing to commit to an early 20th-century style of architecture consistent with other dwellings in the vicinity. Eight lots, where the city demolished the housing, are available for purchase — two waterfront lots on Eighth Avenue West, another four also on Eighth Avenue and two on 17th Street Court West. The City Council prefers to sell the eight lots to the same builder for the construction of market-rate housing.
In 2021, 8 new homes are built on the lots by Jeffrey W. Hamilton of Hamilton Constructors, LLC working with Affinity Building Systems, a Lakeland, Ga.-based company that specializes in constructing homes off-site and delivering them as prefabs.