Jerry Herring, investor who led revival of downtown Lakeland, dies at age 76

Jerry Herring saw the potential in downtown Lakeland at a time when few others did.

His willingness to invest in the city’s distressed core starting in the 1980s is a major reason the downtown area is thriving today, say those who knew him.

“He took a lot of risk early on,” said Jim Edwards, who served at the time as director of the Lakeland Downtown Development Authority and the Community Redevelopment Agency. “I think it's safe to say it paid off for him. But nevertheless, it was quite a risk to be a pioneer in downtown in the late ‘80s and early ‘90s.”

Herring, who acquired the moniker “Mr. Downtown” for his redevelopment efforts, died Aug. 27 at age 76. His daughter, Casey Herring Andrews, said he had been diagnosed with cancer nine months earlier.

Herring spent his youth in Alabama and came to Lakeland as a young man in 1967. He soon met Janis Helminski, and couple married the next year. Janis, a Lakeland native, educated her husband about the city and especially the downtown area.

While attending the annual Margarita Ball in the early 1980s, the couple sauntered down Kentucky Avenue, and Janis regaled Jerry with histories of the buildings they passed, family members said in an obituary.

Herring soon formed Herring Financial Systems, an agency based in South Lakeland.

In the late 1980s, downtown Lakeland was in a distressed condition. Former businesses such as Kress and Co. and J.C. Penney had closed, and about 40% of first-floor properties were vacant, Edwards recalled.

“So virtually every other storefront was vacant,” said Edwards, now a senior adviser with SVN Saunders Ralston Dantzler Real Estate. “Buildings were in very poor condition. The park (Munn Park) was not at all an attractive place. All of the streets downtown were one-way pairs. No street trees. No pedestrian-scale lighting. It was just a pretty bleak and desperate place at that point.”

In the 1980s, Herring became a tenant in a building on South Florida Avenue and Main Street, said Jim Studiale, then a developer and later the leader of Lakeland’s director of community development before retiring in 2018. Herring soon purchased the Bowyer Building, a 1902 structure on Kentucky Avenue, north of Pine Street.

Herring operated his business on the second floor and sought retail tenants for the first-floor spaces. One of the first tenants was a Southwestern-themed shop, but that lasted only seven months, even after Herring offered six months of free rent, The Ledger reported in 2006.

But Herring soon attracted Brooke Pottery, an established business in South Lakeland, to the spot at 223 N. Kentucky Ave. That beloved business lasted until 2018.

As retail gradually returned to downtown spaces, Lakeland revitalized Munn Park, restoring a fountain and installing benches.

Herring later teamed with John Rodda to purchase the Clonts Building, a 1903 structure at 228 E. Pine St. known for its round parapet topped by a conical, hat-like roof. By the early 2000s, Herring owned 17 properties in downtown Lakeland.

"Downtown is a very solid investment," Herring told a Ledger reporter. "The infrastructure is here and it will only get better and better."

Herring served on the board of the Lakeland Downtown Development Authority, a special taxing district formed in the 1970s. The CRA, originally a partner with the LDDA, later moved under the city’s control.

“Jerry came into that environment both as a board member and an investor,” Edwards said. “And he was always very positive, very supportive. He went beyond just participating in board meetings. He went beyond that and headed up fundraising events and other things to make downtown more attractive. He was always looking for a win-win situation.”

Herring sold his company in 1992, and he and Janis moved to Georgia, where they grew pecans on a 1,000-acre farm, his daughter said. They kept a home in Lakeland and returned permanently in 2000.

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Herring earned his real-estate license and spent a year with the Fearn Partnership in an apprenticeship program, working with David Fearn and Greg Mugg, before forming Herring and Co. Casey joined the company in the early 2000s and became a co-owner. Janis Herring served as a partner in the Casey Land Co., and teamed with the couple’s son, Brian, in Herring Construction, The Ledger reported.

Herring developed a building that bears his name on Pine Street west of Massachusetts Avenue. That structure, which now houses the Lakeland Escape Room, connected to the back of the Bowyer Building.

Along with his son, Brian, and Brian's wife, Elizabeth, Herring opened Go-Mini's of Central Florida, a portable storage container business.

In addition to the LDDA, Jerry Herring served volunteer roles with Leadership Lakeland, Barnett Bank, the Lakeland Chamber of Commerce, the Rotary Club, Big Brothers Big Sisters and Paint Your Heart Out Lakeland, his family said.

In their later years, Jerry and Janis owned a series of recreational vehicles and traversed the country, twice venturing into Canada, their daughter said.

Herring is survived by his wife of 55 years, Janis; three grown children, Chris Herring, Brian Herring and Casey; and six grandchildren. The family plans to hold a private ceremony.

Gary White can be reached at gary.white@theledger.com or 863-802-7518. Follow on X @garywhite13.

CORRECTION

An earlier version of this included an incorrect age for Jerry Herring. He was 76.

This article originally appeared on The Ledger: Jerry Herring, Lakeland investor known as 'Mr. Downtown,' dies at 76