By: Steve Scruggs Nine weeks ago, we received devastating news regarding our plans to renovate the former Cash Feed building on Lake Mirror. Our dream of turning the former feed store into Catapult 2.0, an entrepreneur center for Lakeland, was brought to a sudden halt as Hurricane Irma effectively condemned our building and took us back to square one. Once we recovered from the shock, we spent a few weeks evaluating our options. Should we stay in the Bank of America building and not expand our footprint? Should we lease a building outside of downtown, maybe in a neighborhood that needs a catal ..read more

An economic development incentive can be strictly defined as “cash or near-cash assistance provided on a discretionary basis to attract or retain business operations.  In practice, however, it is a broadly used term denoting an array of benefits designed to promote new business activity or to encourage business or job retention,” according to Wikipedia. This is the first in a series of blogs on economic development incentives that we will post in the coming months.  This is a complex topic, and if our community is going to continue to invest in incentives, we all need to underst ..read more

Catapult was started in late 2013 as an 501c3 educational entrepreneur center in the basement of the Bank of America Building in downtown Lakeland.  Due to its initial success and the obvious need to move beyond its initial experimental stage, local private donors through the Give Well Community Foundation have given and pledged over $17 million to grow and expand its facilities and programs.  This extremely generous gift is open and available to anyone and everyone in our community. First Meetings In September 2015, Catapult put Lakeland’s Cash Feed and Vacuum Cleaner buildings unde ..read more

In 2011, Tampa Electric (TECO) executives asked the LEDC to set up a meeting with Lakeland’s city manager and mayor. TECO was interested in talking to city officials regarding the potential purchase of Lakeland Electric. A number of meetings between TECO and city officials took place over a 6-month period. TECO offered to have a public conversation about their interest in Lakeland Electric and the mayor and city manager decided that would not be in the city’s best interest. Charter Change The mayor and city manager explained to TECO that prior to the city even considering a potential sale of L ..read more

What does broadband have to do with economic development? Companies across the country are making relocation and expansion decisions based on a long list of criteria such as real estate, incentives, talent, etc.  Is broadband on the list?  If so, where, and how important, is broadband in the eyes of job creators? Over the past two years, The City of Lakeland has been considering what its role should be with regards to broadband.  Would this be a wise investment for our community from an economic development perspective?  What can we learn from those that have gone before us ..read more

Why would an “unnamed” business group be opposed to a major residential project in Downtown Lakeland?  The answer to that question is, this “unnamed” business group, LEDC, is not opposed.  The LEDC wants to collaborate with the developer, City of Lakeland, the Lakeland Community Redevelopment Agency, (CRA) and any other interested organizations and or community members who are interested in how we might work together to create a bold vision for developing and connecting the 10-acre parcel to Lake Mirror and beyond. Pedestrian Overpass Approximately 2 months ago, Lakeland city of ..read more

Devastated. No word, or words, can really describe the feeling you get when something you have spent two years of your life planning, designing, nurturing, and restoring is damaged beyond repair. Hearing the experts say words like “condemnation,” “life safety,” and “complete loss” put me in a state of shock. How can a building in Florida, that is almost 100 years old and survived multiple hurricanes fail now? What happened?  Are you sure we can’t fix it? Those are the questions that were hitting me like a 100 mph wind gust from Hurricane Irma during a walk through with engineers ..read more

What do all large employers in Downtown Lakeland have in common?  A need for available, convenient and affordable parking for their employees.  What is available, convenient and affordable?  What is the City’s role?  The private sector role?  Is this an economic development issue? PRIVATE SECTOR GROWTH… The City of Lakeland hasn’t built a public parking garage (Main Street) in over 32 years.  In that same period of time, Downtown Lakeland has seen tremendous new private sector employment growth including: Downtown Core: Publix – 600 jobs (JC Penney) Fed Ex – 400 ..read more

Over the past 30+ years in my job at The Lakeland Economic Development Council, we have typically focused on communicating with our 140 members, key City of Lakeland contacts and our local newspaper, The Ledger.  This strategy had always been effective and worked for us.  We thrived in an environment of working behind the scenes and giving credit to others. A number of community issues, the ever-increasing speed in which information is shared and public opinion is shaped, has caused us to reconsider our communication strategy.  We are not just thinking about how we communicate ..read more