City of Lakeland Embraces Its Fast-Growing Status to Upgrade Infrastructure, Improve Quality of Life
The City of Lakeland’s growth has led to many opportunities and challenges in the last five years. Overall, City Manager Shawn Sherrouse is excited and pleased with the recognition Lakeland has received.
“The notoriety that we’ve been receiving across the country is amazing. When you look at just about every ranking list out there, the City of Lakeland is somewhere in the Top 10 – the fastest-growing area of the country, rankings related to quality of life and more. It’s exciting to see Lakeland gain that type of notoriety,” Sherrouse said. “It has to do with the growth we are experiencing.”
The 2020 U.S. Census lists Lakeland’s population at 112,641. The estimated population in 2024 was 125,056.
But it’s more than just people moving to the city that has Sherrouse excited. It’s also opportunities like Lakeland’s partnership with passenger airline Avelo Airlines.
“There are more visitors who can fly directly into Lakeland now and our residents can fly to other locations. What Avelo offers is expanding. In March 2025, the route to Nashville began service and in June two new routes will begin to ISLIP Long Island NY along with GRR Grand Rapids MI,” Sherrouse said. “Avelo is already performing very well in terms of sales, and we know from working with them we have other opportunities in our future, including more routes and more of their aircraft to be based out of Lakeland Linder International Airport.”
Clean Energy
Sherrouse is also looking forward to the completion of the six reciprocating internal combustion engines to generate electricity. “It’s the replacement for the old coal plant we shut down a couple years ago. It’s coming online now with cleaner, greener energy than the coal plant.”
In addition, the city signed a contract with The Williams Co., which owns land near Florida Polytechnic University. “They will develop 75 megawatts of solar power, and we will purchase energy from them. It’s another indication of shifting toward energy generation that is more environmentally friendly,” he said.
Economic Growth
Growth also brings opportunities for economic development.
Several speculative development projects are moving forward with construction, they said. “Time to market is still an important factor in a company’s decision-making process and it’s important that we have available inventory. This keeps us competitive for those prospects looking to move quickly.”
LEDC and Sherrouse also both noted construction beginning on the Publix Downtown Technology campus. It “will ultimately concentrate over 1,200 high-skill, high-wage workers in the downtown area, create a minimum of 200 new highly paid jobs and see significant capital investment in two older buildings.”
Sherrouse said it’s a $100 million investment “by a company that IS Lakeland and means so much to Lakeland.” Publix is also going to renovate its former headquarters on George Jenkins Boulevard, a $50 million project.
City of Lakeland Infrastructure
Like every other city in Polk County, the city of Lakeland is having to deal with aging infrastructure, which has been challenging, Sherrouse said.
“The good thing is many projects are underway that will not only resolve those challenges but set Lakeland up in terms of infrastructure for the future,” he said. Some projects will be completed in 2025 while others have another year or two before they are finished.
Several noteworthy projects:
- The Western Wastewater Trunkline Project, a 2.5-mile section of underground reinforced-concrete pipe that will move millions of gallons of wastewater daily. “Phase 1 is underway now at about a $25 million cost. Everybody will see that under construction in 2025 and we will complete it in late 2026.” Some wastewater transmission lines are 80 years old, Sherrouse said. “Over the last couple decades, we’ve let that age and we’ve gotten ourselves to this point. And add rapid growth and we have to modernize and expand our capacity to accommodate current needs and future needs.”
- Lakeland Hills Boulevard, a Department of Transportation complete streets project that will allow for a safer pedestrian corridor, he said. “The medical corridor is right there, so we will have a wider road with expanded sidewalks.” Work will continue for two years.
- The Dixieland lane realignment. While road-level structures are still in place, design of the roadway with associated utilities, stormwater, and streetscape is anticipated to take close to 24 months, “and we’re working with DOT to try to advance construction funding.
- Fire Station 8, which will be built behind the old Lakeland Square mall. “That is moving toward design and engineering, then to construction. It’s important to locate a fire station there,” Sherrouse said. Related, the city will be adding two new fire engines, one to replace an engine due for replacement, and the other as an additional engine for the fleet at station 8. Opening is scheduled for late 2026 or early 2027.
Health Care
Lakeland also is getting a boost from a total of $2 billion in investments in health-care facilities, Sherrouse said. When completed, those will add 5,500 high-skill, high-wage jobs. They include:
- The Veterans Administration facility, which opened at the end of 2024, a $65 million investment.
- Central Florida Health Care’s planned four-story building, a $30 million investment at Harden Boulevard and the Polk Parkway.
- Advent Health’s planned 10-story, 400-bed facility.
- Orlando Health’s $650 million, seven-story facility under construction and to be completed in 2026.
- Lakeland Regional Health’s recently completed first phase of an expansion project, with two additional buildings planned – a $46 million investment.
“There’s been such an explosion in the health-care industry, bringing so many jobs,” Sherrouse said.
Future Growth
Sherrouse said there is also opportunity for growth in the Central Florida Innovation District around Florida Poly.
“Research and development-type industries could locate in that area. We see that as a future opportunity,” he said. “Timing is hard to determine, but we do expect at some point in time to see that type of development in that area.”
Manufacturing and distribution is another area where the city continues to see steady growth, Sherrouse said. “We have an existing development — Lakeland Central Park – which has 5 million square feet of manufacturing and distribution space to be built out.”
The area around the new Bonnet Springs Park – Prospect Lake Wire, also known as the old Florida Tile site — holds promise as well. “The first phase of 300 multi-family apartments has been completed and they are renting now. And there’s room for future expansion there — 15,000 square feet of mixed-use retail available,” Sherrouse said.
“One thing that excites us about that is the City Commission approved the downtown west strategic action plan in April 2024. That sets the stage for many strategic developments and investments and has a lot of elements that will improve connectivity and quality-of-life elements in downtown west – the RP Funding Center, Bonnet Springs Park, Prospect Lake Wire and even further west. Prospect Lake Wire is a catalytic-type development there.”
The city is also starting the process to develop a strategic plan for Memorial Boulevard to advance the quality of life there, he said. “There’s opportunity for redevelopment along that corridor. Forty to 50 years ago that was a key segment of Lakeland, and it’s just deteriorated over time.”
Residential Growth
In 2024, the City of Lakeland permitted 549 new residential units — 441 single-family and 108 multi-family units, Sherrouse said. “That is significantly lower than what we have been experiencing since 2020. Prior to 2024, we permitted over 1,000 units a year. We have seen the residential market slow down some, and we anticipate it will remain fairly steady in 2025.”
He’s not concerned by the decrease. “Because we had so many units built from 2020 to 2023, we had closed the housing gap in many ways,” he said. “We still have needs, especially multi-unit apartments and the like.”
The slowdown is giving the city a chance to complete many infrastructure projects to have the capacity it needs for water, wastewater, electricity and “everything else needed to support any future period of rapid growth.”
Success for City Asset
The RP Funding Center turns 50 at the end of the year, and it’s in better financial shape than it has been in years, Sherrouse said.
“A couple years ago, our operating subsidy (to the RP Funding Center) was over $2 million, and the commission wanted to see it below $1 million,” he said. “We were able to achieve that the last two years, and it’s below $800,000 a year.”
The city subsidizes the center because of the economic benefit it brings to the community, Sherrouse said. When it hosts events like cheer, dance and gymnastics competitions and the high school basketball championships, people “come into our community, eat at area restaurants and stay in hotels. There’s an economic advantage for us to provide that subsidy to keep the center operating.”
Events will be held throughout the year to celebrate the anniversary and “all the great memories of all the concerts and things that have been held there,” he said.
Future Outlook
As Lakeland continues to evolve, City Manager Shawn Sherrouse remains confident in its trajectory—one marked by strategic investment, sustainable infrastructure, and a vision for long-term prosperity. From economic expansion and clean energy initiatives to healthcare growth and downtown revitalization, the city is not only keeping pace with its rapid population growth but also laying the foundation for a thriving, connected future. With thoughtful planning and community-centered development, Lakeland is poised to remain one of the most dynamic and desirable places to live, work, and visit in the years to come.
