With Lakeland being the youngest and least-developed municipality in Shelby County, city officials see its growth over the next several years as critical.
On Wednesday, March 23, marketing specialist Amy Howell and City Commissioner Wesley Wright outlined the best ways to manage Lakeland’s future growth during an appearance before the Lakeland Area Chamber of Commerce.
“We have an opportunity right now to do what needs to be done so that Lakeland grows in the right direction,” Howell, who handles marketing for the city, said at the chamber’s monthly luncheon. “Good design doesn’t have to be expensive, but it needs to be strategic.”
Wright presented an overview of many things happening now and planned for the near future in Lakeland, noting the suburb is undergoing more changes than at any other time since its incorporation in 1977. He added that “these next five years will determine our trajectory in a lot of ways.”
Changes to the city’s 2006 comprehensive plan and the Land Development Regulations of 2013 began last year and will be worked on more this year. Wright emphasized that those plans needed adjusting because they didn’t reflect what residents wanted. The commissioner said the previous plans “exposed us to over-development” with the potential elimination of large wooded areas and allowing undesirable development.
He and other city officials want to preserve the natural areas.
Wright detailed the $25 million New Canada Road project, which will cover a 2.3-mile stretch between Interstate 40 and U.S. 70. That project should get underway this fall and is estimated to take three years to complete. The Tennessee Department of Transportation is covering 80% of the cost of the project, with Lakeland paying the remaining 20%.
“So for Lakeland that’s great because we’re still building up our coffers so to speak and trying to do it without raising taxes,” Wright said.
He touched on the impact the new Ford plant and Blue Oval City could have on Lakeland. Allowing any and all development is not part of the picture.
“I think one thing we don’t want to do is open the floodgates to everything,” he said. “We have to be very controlled in how we’re going to do that. I think it helps us with commercial growth.”
Last year, the city hired a retail strategist to help lure top companies to the area. A significant amount of commercial space is coming online this year at the city’s two large mixed-use projects: The Lake District and Lakeland Town Square. This week, CycleBar becomes the second business to open at The Lake District with more openings expected in the coming months. And The Owners Box sports bar and grill should open at the Lakeland Town Square in April.
Another proposed mixed-use project, Ashmont, at the Canada Road and Davies Plantation Road intersection, could come before the Board of Commissioners for consideration in the next couple of months if it is able to gain a recommendation of the Municipal Planning Commission.
“I would not approve it as it is,” Wright said. “It’s got a gas station as anchor, and I thought that was a problem. It has a lot of work that needs to be done before I would ever come close to approving it.”