Several local experts this morning gave an overview of homelessness in Lakeland and what is happening at social service agencies and schools to address it. The session, sponsored by the Lakeland Chamber of Commerce, was moderated by City Commissioner Sara Roberts McCarley. More
A company working with the city of Lakeland is hoping to win a competitive grant to build a low-income housing complex on East Bella Vista Street just south of Tigertown. But first it had to get chosen by city commissioners against another company with considerable affordable-housing experience. More
The federal government wants to lease a 100,000-square-foot facility in Central Florida to house undocumented migrant children, and Lakeland is in the southwest corner of a large swath of Central Florida where the site could be placed. (The area under consideration stretches nearly to Deltona and includes Orlando, Kissimmee and parts of Leesburg.) The General Services administrative is soliciting offers for sites, and the facility could open by November 2020.
LINKS: News Channel 8 coverage | GSA Solicitation | Map | Housing Plan | Earlier: Orlando Sentinel
A former Navy cryptologist who runs motorcycle training courses in Lakeland, Tampa and Ocala has joined with two partners to form a nonprofit organization (registration) and open a thrift store, Helping Single Parents Outlet and Auction Center (website), at 1100 Griffin Road.
Led by Mayor Bill Mutz, a majority of the City Commission expressed enthusiastic support for a series of groundbreaking steps to address the issue of affordable housing in Lakeland during a policy workshop today. More
Reporting by Bay News 9’s Stephanie Claytor about how Polk fared in the Legislature includes a chart listing the local projects: how much money they got and which ones were vetoed by the governor.
A Talbot House Ministries affordable-housing program will get a big donation from the city: a dilapidated apartment building appraised at $160,000 and $50,000 toward repairs, the City Commission decided Monday. More
City commissioners face a decision today on two different approaches in providing affordable housing: nominal rents and social services for low-wage workers through Talbot House or vouchers for veterans. More
After a ribbon-cutting ceremony at Lakeland Volunteers in Medicine’s new $4.5 million home today, visitors touring the building took out their smartphones and aimed their cameras upward toward a 20-foot-high mural dominating two walls in the lobby and also at two murals displaying the organization’s vision statement. More
The program, part of Lakeland’s Florida Baptist Children’s Homes, is opening its 11th house for families headed by single moms and plans to build three more this year.
