Less than two years old, the Catapult program to develop Lakeland’s next generation of entrepreneurs has shown so much promise that community leaders have pledged $13 million to more than triple its size by moving it into the now-vacant Cash Feed building on Lake Mirror.
Fast Facts:
- The Lakeland Economic Development Council, which oversees Catapult Lakeland, has a contract to buy the 32,000-square-foot Lakeland Cash Feed building for $850,000.
- The group has also contracted to buy the neighboring vacuum cleaner dealership property (8,000 square feet) for $800,000 and plans to either demolish it for parking or construct a new building on the site. Central Vacuum is planning to relocate, The Ledger reports.
- The GiveWell Community Foundation is investing the $13 million needed to buy, remodel and equip the buildings and run the non-profit program for three years. It will lease the property to LEDC for $10 a year.
- The city of Lakeland is the third partner in the plan to boost Catapult’s capacity.
- Plans call for construction to be complete in time for Catapult to move out of its current 10,000-square-foot home in the basement of the Bank of America building downtown in early 2017.
Catapult’s Current Space
The Inspiration for Enlarging Catapult
[box] Disclosure: The writer of this article is a co-worker at Catapult, where he developed the business model for lkldnow.com.[/box]
With more than 100 members, Catapult has far exceeded the goals set when it launched in January 2014, LEDC director Steve Scruggs told a meeting of LEDC supporters Monday afternoon. The small commercial kitchen is so successful that there is a waiting list and three applicants had to be turned away recently, he said.
[box]Story in The Ledger|Editorial in The Ledger[/box]
Catapult, Scruggs said, has been a successful element in LEDC’s goals to attract the “creative class” to Lakeland, retain talented young residents and grow opportunities for entrepreneurs.
“This is a game-changer,” said Lori Martini, GiveWell’s chief philanthropic officer, adding it’s the best example of cooperation between business, government and philanthropy she’s seen in her 20 years in Lakeland.
The property
Plans for an enlarged Catapult call for:
- A large open space for co-workers, the members who just need a place to sit and work at their laptops.
- Accelerator office space: More and larger offices for companies that are growing and need space for several workers until they’re ready to move to their own quarters. The current facility has only four small offices.
- Project space: A place for businesses such as wedding planners who need room to design and create.
- Commercial kitchen that can accommodate up to 20 caterers, bakers, food truck vendors and others.
- Cafe, so that food is readily available while people are working.
- Maker space for people who craft items. Scruggs mentioned Lakeland residents who make furniture, musical instruments, artistic knives and sculpture.
- Retail space where select merchants can model their ideas and see if they work. These spaces would rotate on a regular basis, Scruggs said.
- Studio space: Several photographers and videographers already work at Catapult.
- Several meeting rooms.
The interior of Lakeland Cash Feed now:
Further plans, Scruggs said, include educational programs, such as one directed toward high school students and CareerSource Polk’s Gentleman’s Institute Partnership.
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LEDC also plans to work with financial institutions, he said, to establish two programs:
- A private fund that provides “lifestyle entrepreneurs” with grants or no-interest loans to test their ideas.
- An investment fund “seeking long-term capital appreciation through investments in emerging growth companies. Investments will generally be made to bridge portfolio companies to a further financing round.”
Local companies
Scruggs said that the companies chosen to work on construction and furnishing of Catapult will be local companies that are members of LEDC.
In selecting an architect for the project, he said, a meeting was held with three prospects, all Lakeland firms: KCMH, Lunz Prebor Fowler, and Wallis Murphey Boyington.
Representatives of the three firms, conferred, Scruggs said, and then told LEDC: “Isn’t Catapult about collaboration? We want to collaborate on this project.”
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I like this idea. I just hope it doesn’t overshadow or financially harm My Office & More, a private company that offers coworking space.
I think Kate has her niche market, just like catapult does. With her skills, My Office and More will always be a great place to work.
I have a Reserved Desk in My Office & More and am a charter member here. My business is growing even more quickly since I arrived at this beautiful downtown presence. My opinion is that My Office & More and Catapult do not have competing functions, but rather are complimentary to one another.
MO&M differs from Catapult’s incubator focus in that it is geared toward new and established business people as well as entrepreneurs (local or remote), with an occasional or permanent need for a desk or office. Various levels of services are offered and can be tailored to anyone’s needs . I can see many of Catapult’s “graduates” feeding into My Office & More in the future, giving downtown Lakeland an amazing offering for the young business as well as the established….. exactly what the city needs!
Feel free to come by My Office & More, enjoy a tour, and see what they’re all about!
I am very curious to see how this plays out in the long run, and the impact it will have on downtown lakeland.
This is fine and good. But where will I get my vacuum cleaner serviced? This is kind of a serious question. We seem to be losing the real-life trade businesses, like appliance repair, in favor of “lifestyle entrepreneurs.” My lifestyle involves the use of a working vacuum cleaner.
“LEDC is also buying the neighboring vacuum cleaner dealership property (8,000 square feet) for $800,000 and plans to either demolish it for parking or construct a new building on the site.”
Robin, The Ledger article (which I link to from my article) says that Central Vacuum Cleaner Co. will relocate.
I don’t know what happens to the new art gallery that opened in that building; since it’s an entrepreneurial venture, perhaps it can become a Catapult demonstration project.
This is exciting! I was just thinking the other day that space would be a great space for a larger Catapult/My Office & More project.