Blog

Incentives…Our Track Record

We believe the City of Lakeland should increase its investment in creating high-skill, high-wage jobs in our community in 2018. Intuitively, high-skill, high-wage jobs can be defined as…

Catapult 3.0: The Resurrection

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…

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...

Catapult Parking

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...

Lakeland Electric

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...

Broadband With a Broad Brush

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...

Frameworks

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...

Catapult 2.0: Post-Irma Update

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...

Downtown Lakeland Parking

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...

A Community Conversation

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...