In the 1960s Bradenton dredged the Manatee River for silt, to add of land adjacent to its downtown area. The area was dubbed "The Sand Pile" due to the river dredging projects. The park, Anthony T. Rossi Waterfront Park, was originally developed in the 1980s with the help of a federal grant. The boundaries of Rossi Park were from the Green Bridge to the Hernando DeSoto Bridge. The Bradenton Downtown Development Authority hired Kimley-Horn and Associates, Inc. in June 2010 to design a substantial improvement to Rossi Park and the surrounding waterfront area. The construction of the Riverwalk broke groundin September 2011 and opened to the public on October 18, 2012.
Features
The Bradenton Riverwalk spans from slightly west of the Green Bridge, near South Florida Museum, to 2nd Street East, adjacent to Manatee Memorial Hospital. The Riverwalk includes playgrounds, splash pad, a lawn for picnics, a day dock for boaters, a skatepark, a botanical walk, sand volleyball courts, and a 400-seat Mosaic Amphitheater. Public art is displayed throughout the Riverwalk area. One of the permanent art collections displayed is Postcards from the Friendly City. The collection consists of various large-scale art panel "postcards" depicting the history of the Manatee River and Bradenton area. Several weekly, monthly, and annual events, hosted by Realize Bradenton with coordination from Bradenton and the BDDA, are held at the Riverwalk. These events range from a weekly farmers' market, a seasonal "Music in the Park" family-friendly live music series, to the annual Bradenton Blues Festival and ArtSlam. The events attract 100,000 people annually to the downtown area and generate $2.785 million every year in economic impact based on the Americans for the Artseconomic impact calculator.
Eastern extension
In April 2017, the City of Bradenton contracted Kimley-Horn and Associates, Inc. again to create a master plan for an eastern extension of the Bradenton Riverwalk. The eastern extension will extend the Riverwalk east to Manatee Mineral Springs Park and Manatee Village Historical Park. Kimley-Horn is coordinating with Realize Bradenton to gather public input for the eastern extension. The city also bought of land north of Manatee Mineral Springs Park for $700,000 to expand the existing park and to ensure interconnectivity with the eastern expansion of the Riverwalk.
