As 2024 comes to an end, Lakeland has been busy laying the groundwork to keep pace with business growth and ever-booming housing developments.
City Manager Shawn Sherrouse said city staff have been deeply involved in several behind-the-scenes projects making sure the city’s infrastructure is keeping pace with population and can handle its future growth.
“Even though development has slowed, we still have healthy development that is occurring in Lakeland,” he said.
The Ledger spoke with Sherrouse and Mayor Bill Mutz for their perspective on some of Lakeland’s biggest accomplishments in 2024.
Lakeland Linder grows, lands Avelo
The city-owned Lakeland Linder International Airport has experienced rapid growth and expansion in the past year.
“We’ve made tremendous strides at the airport,” Mutz said. “The additional taxiways, runway modifications, additional tenants there onsite all matter.”
Lakeland Linder has been undergoing an transformation that started under its previous director, Gene Conrad, and continues under current Airport Director Kris Hallstrand.
At the end of 2023, city officials struck a deal with Avelo Airlines to begin offering the airport’s first true commercial passenger air service. Its first route between Lakeland and New Haven, Connecticut’s Tweed airport started in June.
Despite Hallstrand’s “crawl, walk, run” theory for a slow and gradual start, Avelo announced it would offer seven new routes out of Lakeland Linder less than a month later in July. Then, it added a route to Nashville, Tennessee, in November.
There’s been a slight retraction, as the airline will stop routes from Lakeland to Atlanta and Hartford, Connecticut in January. Hallstrand said she thinks this is just a necessary adjustment for continued growth.
Meanwhile, Lakeland Linder has quietly become the third busiest airport in Florida for cargo operations, surpassing Tampa International Airport. It sits behind Miami and Orlando, according to the Central Florida Development Council.
Adding affordable housing
Lakeland has continued to partner with developers to bring much-needed affordable housing to the area.
The city provided about $1.5 million in incentives and fee waivers for Swan Lake Village, an 84-unit affordable housing complex with units for individuals with disabilities, and neighboring Swan Landing, an 88-unit affordable housing development. A grand opening of the Swan Landing complex, constructed by Tampa Bay-based developer Blue Sky Communities was held in April.
“Even though we’ve had some success in affordable housing developments, it’s still a need the city is looking to incentivize and work with developers to meet that need going into the future,” Sherrouse said.
Mutz said he was proud the City Commission felt it had saved enough in affordable housing funds that some of the money, once designated for that pot, could be used to address other issues.
“We now have enough surplus funds in affordable housing that they cannot be used as fast as developers can access it,” the mayor said.
“The need for affordable housing will continue,” he said. “We have likely overbuilt multifamily [housing] at the present, but it will take some years to get units into place.”
Other major housing developments to come online in the city include Prospect Lake Wire, 300 multi-family units on the former Florida Tile Site, and Valencia at the Park, 32 apartments built overlooking Barnett Family Park near Lake Mirror.
‘Dirty’ infrastructure work
Lakeland has gotten its hands dirty digging down to address major infrastructure issues with water and wastewater.
Sherrouse said work has started to replace the Western Trunk Line, a major gravity-fed sewer line that serves a large portion of the city’s rapidly expanding Southwest. A purchase order has been issued, and the first phase of the work is expected to cost about $22 million.
“Now, reconstructing it is critical to being able to serve the city’s water and wastewater needs,” he said.
Construction of the 36-inch sewer line won’t be completed until about 2026, but it’s addressing the city’s aging infrastructure.
Work has also begun on the North Side Pump Station project along U.S. 98 North. Sherrouse said the new pump station will have updated, modernized equipment and have the capacity to handle the current wastewater demands and future growth needs. It’s expected to be completed in spring 2025.
Parks expand, including cemeteries
Lakeland has continued to expand its vast parks and recreational offerings in 2024 by creating an esports center at the Coleman-Bush Building in March.
It hasn’t stopped there.
Sherrouse said city staff worked to obtain a grant allowing it to offer robotics classes to the city’s youth.
Also, the city wanted to make sure esports participants stay on their toes by working with Pinellas and Seminole counties to create the Central Florida Esports League.
“These are services that are heavily utilized by a lot of the youth in our community,” Sherrouse said.
Dog lovers, including Sherrouse, have benefited from the grand opening of the city’s newest dog park, On Dog Time, at Rose Street and Lake Avenue.
“It was an innovative project,” Sherrouse said. “What was a retention pond with no public accessibility or use, we were able to design something that still serves as a retention pond but on the outer boundary we can give public access and use by citizens and their furry friends, including my own.”
The project’s location on the corner of Rose Street also starts the city’s goal of revitalizating Rose Street, in an effort to expand the downtown core east past The Joinery.
Other parks and recreational department accomplishments include a three-acre expansion of the city-owned cemetery and making the library’s website accessible and compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act.
Avelo flights, more housing and infrastructure: The keys to a thriving community
In recent years, Avelo Airlines has been making waves in the aviation industry with their affordable flights and convenient service. As more and more people are choosing Avelo for their travel needs, the demand for housing and infrastructure in the areas they serve is also on the rise.
With Avelo flights becoming increasingly popular, it’s crucial that communities are prepared to accommodate the influx of visitors and residents. This means not only building more housing to meet the demand, but also investing in infrastructure such as roads, public transportation, and utilities to support the growing population.
By focusing on these key areas, communities can not only attract more visitors and residents, but also create a more vibrant and sustainable environment for all. Avelo flights, more housing, and infrastructure go hand in hand in creating a thriving community that can continue to grow and prosper for years to come.
Tags:
- Avelo flights
- Housing developments
- Infrastructure projects
- Affordable housing solutions
- Avelo airlines expansion
- Transportation improvements
- Urban development
- Economic growth initiatives
- Sustainable infrastructure planning
- Community revitalization efforts
#Avelo #flights #housing #infrastructure
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