The housewares, furniture and gift shop on North Kentucky Avenue needed more space for workshops, so it opened The Atelier at 1214 S. Florida Ave. (next to Nineteen 61) for both workshops and merchandise. | Facebook video | Instagram photos
The city of Lakeland is taking a close look at how much it spends to incentivize business growth and where the dollars come from, after an economic development group suggested changes.
Following a recent presentation by Steve Scruggs, president of the private, non-profit Lakeland Economic Development Council, city commissioners expressed willingness to consider a tactic different than the current incentive of paying cash rebates after the creation of high-paying, highly skilled jobs. More
After the Brookings Institution ranked Lakeland third among cities where automation is likely to reduce jobs (US News article | chart), The Wall Street Journal came here for a closer look. (A subscription is required to read the full article.) The reporter zeroed in on Southern Glazer’s Wine & Spirits, where automation enabled the company to consolidate five warehouses into the largest liquor-distribution facility in the world. Initially the plant brought more jobs to Lakeland, but automation threatens their longevity.
A young entrepreneur who majored in business at Florida Southern College founded a sportswear company, and is pledging to donate 10 percent of profits — and 100 percent of profits on a line of T-shirts, sweatshirts and hoodies costing $35 to $70 — to a non-profit he founded (link) to benefit children around the world.
After being sold to Blue Roc Premier for $50 million, the 352-unit Victoria Landing Apartments on Lakeland Hills Boulevard have been rebranded as The Park at Palazzo. The 12-year-old complex’ location near I-4 and access to Tampa and Orlando generated strong interest, the listing agent told Multi-Housing News.
A layoff claimed the job of The Ledger’s entertainment reporter, Paul Catala, Creative Loafing Tampa Bay reports. Catala confirmed it on Facebook. The article doesn’t address the fate of Time Out, the newspaper’s Thursday entertainment magazine that Catala wrote for. Readers will find out soon whether Time Out survived.
As Draken International acquires Mirage F1M jets under its latest federal contract for military adversary flight training, supersonic flights will start taking off from Lakeland Linder Airport this spring. The flights won’t break the sound barrier until they’re well over the Gulf of Mexico, Bay News 9 reports. For background, check this article from The Drive that we linked to last summer.
Hidden Gem Consignment Boutique, 3139 N. Galloway Road, is showing off its expansion Saturday. The store, opened by a domestic violence survivor and her mom, makes clothing and other goods available for free to other survivors, as ABC Action News reports | View a previous WFTS story about store founder Jessica Criswell.
Jennifer Smurr, the model-turned-baker who founded the uber-popular Born & Bread Bakehouse, was honored Tuesday night as David Lyons Entrepreneur of the Year at Catapult Lakeland‘s first Lakeland Entrepreneur Awards. More
The dollars from the Florida Job Growth Grant Fund will go toward constructing hangars as Lakeland Linder Airport seeks to expand cargo operations and maintenance, repair and overhaul capacity. The repair hangars could lead to 400 new jobs, airport officials say.
