Citrus Industry Honors Bob Behr, Florida’s Natural CEO
Behr, a Lakeland resident, was honored with Florida Grower magazine’s Citrus Achievement Award at the Florida Citrus Industry Annual Conference.
Business
MidFlorida Deals Signal New Growth Strategies
MidFlorida Credit Union’s pending merger and acquisition deals with two banks allows the Lakeland-based institution to spread its footprint into fast-growing portions of Northeast and Southwest Florida, the Business Observer reports. The credit union’s first bank purchases also signal a new growth strategy of becoming a non-bank bank, the weekly newspaper reports.
Home Depot Chooses Warehouse Site Off County Line Road
Home Depot is planning an 800,000-square-foot distribution center just west of County Line Road. The city of Plant City is offering a seven-year exemption from property taxes for the facility at Wiggins and Rice Roads that is expected to employ 150 initially and possibly up to 350 eventually. “This is a win for all of Tampa Bay,” Mayor Rick Lott told Fox 13 News. “I truly believe what we do in Plant City helps Lakeland. What Lakeland does helps Plant City and so forth throughout Hillsborough County.”
ALSO: Tampa Bay Business Journal
Carvana Expands Vehicle Delivery to Lakeland
Carvana, an online used-car dealership with an inventory of more than 15,000 vehicles, has added Lakeland to the roughly 130 markets where it offers as-soon-as-next-day delivery. More
Lakeland Women’s Collective Plans Co-Working Space
The Lakeland Women’s Collective is organizing a co-working space that it says will be for female, femme-identifying and non-binary persons. The location: 818 E. Lemon St, near the Lake Mirror Center | website
Airport Improvements Include Advanced Navigation
With the upgrades Lakeland Linder International Airport will make to accommodate Amazon’s planned jet cargo center, the instrument landing system will be among the best 30 to 35 in the country, Gene Conrad, airport director, said. More
City Plans to Divert Airport Grant to Amazon Upgrades
It looks like nearly $4.7 million of the city of Lakeland’s costs for airport improvements needed for the planned Amazon cargo facility will be covered by a state jobs-creation grant. The grant was initially awarded for a large maintenance hangar, but the state is allowing the city to redirect it to Amazon-related upgrades. | Documentation
Bakery, Restaurant, Gift Shop Planned for Downtown
Benjamin Vickers of Honeycomb Bread Bakers and Jenna Cherry of the Twenty Seven design company have announced a collaboration to open a bakery/restaurant and art/gift shop on Bay Street downtown. More
Air Purifier Plant Coming to Lakeland
A California-based air purifier company that got its start with University of South Florida research is returning to Florida via a manufacturing plant it will open west of Lakeland Linder Airport. More
The Ledger Continues Reducing Its News Staff
The Ledger continues reducing the size of its news operation, laying off five newsroom employees, including two of the three top editors, according to multiple sources; they said the move was a part of nationwide newsroom layoffs from parent company GateHouse Media. More