If government access matters, Jim Wade has just the office space for lease: the old Palmetto Federal building at 600 Eighth Ave. W., immediately adjacent to Palmetto City Hall and a hop, skip and a jump across the Green Bridge from the Manatee County administration complex.

The clean-lined, pale yellow, five-story tower with attached two-story building, at 55,000 square feet, is known to long-timers as the Palmetto Federal building because it was built by Palmetto Federal in 1984. It is more commonly referred to as the Gold Dome building since Palmetto Federal sold out to that banking institution, says Wade, principal officer and owner of 600 Palmetto, LLC, which has owned the complex for nine years.

The building has been empty since the Manatee County sheriff’s office vacated it in September. The sheriff’s department had used it as its administrative headquarters. Wade says the sheriff’s department had done a lot of its renovations, and “we will be very flexible about subdividing” the space, with the smallest subdivision at 7,800 square feet. “We will do renovations as required by any new tenant,” he says.

Leasing rates are $11 to $12.50 triple net, somewhat of a bargain compared to some other parts of Manatee County. (In Lakewood Ranch, for example, they range from $16 to $25 per square foot.) Wade says he’s getting “an awful lot of interest” from companies interested in relocating from other parts of Manatee County and from outside the area. He sees it as ideal for any corporate requirement, “anything from software company to medical.” Because the original bank drive-through is still standing, he also has been in conversation with other financial institutions.

According to the Manatee Office Vacancy Exchange of the Economic Development Council of the Manatee Chamber of Commerce, 76,696 square feet out of a total 201,139 square feet of office space were vacant last fall in the city of Palmetto. The 600 Palmetto LLC property comprised more than two-thirds of that vacant space.

The building’s location on Palmetto’s main business thoroughfare, surrounded by banks and professional offices, is a plus. But the biggest draw, according to Wade: “Palmetto is a very easy place to do business as opposed to elsewhere, and the city of Palmetto is very accommodating and easy to work with; we can get a building permit a lot faster over here.”