A second hotel is being planned for the grounds of Lakeland Linder Regional Airport to accommodate the need for more rooms as corporate parks in southwest Lakeland expand, city commissioners were told today.

Staybridge Suites, the extended-stay brand of InterContinental Hotels Group, plans to build a three-story, 79-room hotel along Drane Field Road just west of the 105-room Hilton Garden Inn, which opened about eight years ago.

The hotel will sit on 2.18 acres at 3855 Drane Field Road, according to city documents. The city and hotel chain are negotiating a lease for the property, Airport Director Gene Conrad said.

City commissioners will consider changes in land-use plans needed for the hotel’s construction on Dec. 21. The city Planning and Zoning Board voted Nov. 17 to approve the land-use changes and recommended the City Commission do the same.

While fronting Drane Field Road, the hotel would be accessed from a new road extending west from Don Emerson Drive.

This article was updated on Dec. 7 to reflect that the City Commission will consider the land-use changes on Dec. 21, not Dec. 7.

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Barry Friedman founded Lkldnow.com in 2015 as the culmination of a career in print and digital journalism. Since 1982, he has used the tools of reporting, editing and content curation to help people in Lakeland understand their community better.

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