Lakeland drops sale price of city-owned land for Bonnet Springs Park

Sara-Megan Walsh, The Ledger
·4 min read
This aerial view of Carter's proposed redevelopment of the former Florida Tile site shows two commercial buildings in the foreground along Kathleen Road. Behind it, there is a mixed-used retail and residential apartment complex proposed at the south end of the property along George Jenkins Boulevard.
This aerial view of Carter's proposed redevelopment of the former Florida Tile site shows two commercial buildings in the foreground along Kathleen Road. Behind it, there is a mixed-used retail and residential apartment complex proposed at the south end of the property along George Jenkins Boulevard.

LAKELAND — City officials approved two measures to show the city's support of the upcoming Bonnet Springs Park.

Lakeland commissioners voted 5-1 to reduce the sale price of city-owned land to Lake Wire Development, LLC, a subsidiary of the nonprofit Bonnet Springs Park. The site is located south of the George Jenkins Boulevard and Kathleen Road intersection, adjacent to the former Florida Tile site.

"We are very excited and thrilled to have the support of the city," Josh Henderson, CEO of Bonnet Springs Park, said. "We're excited what this means for all parties involved."

In 2018, Lakeland struck a deal to sell 2.6 acres of municipal-owned land to Lake Wire Development with a projected sale price of $424,601. The agreement was left open ended to allow the nonprofit to come back and seek a reduction in price, at the city's discretion, if it met specific goals.

Related: Bonnet Springs Park announces grand opening date in October

Also: Former Florida Tile site to be sold for nearly $10 million to support Bonnet Springs Park

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David Bunch, Lakeland realtor who co-created Bonnet Springs, told commissioners the park's founding members have checked every item off the list at Friday's agenda study.

"In the three-year period, we have built a $110 million park across the street, remediated this site at $1 million, and found a developer who has come up with a beautiful plan approved by the city," Bunch said. "Everything you have asked us for we have done in spades."

The city will keep $25,000 that was put into escrow for the land back in 2018. Henderson gave commissioners a letter saying the $399,600 discounted from the sales price will be deposited into the Carol Jenkins Barnett Endowment Fund, to pay for future operations and maintenance of the park.

"The city takes that portion and it becomes a multiplier to the future in terms of how it also provides for the operations of the park," Mayor Bill Mutz said. "We are not just buying something, but something that multiples our investment."

Henderson said he's estimated it will cost approximately $9 million a year to operate Bonnet Springs Park. The nonprofit is in the process of raising $35 million in the public portion of a campaign to build the endowment fund.

Commissioner Bill Read was the sole vote against waiving the sale price of the municipal owned land. Read said he couldn't stand behind this use of taxpayers' money.

"This is the citizens' tax dollars and taxes are likely to increase," he said. "We have expenses we are going to need to incur."

The commissioners are scheduled to sit down on July 25 for their next meeting to hammer out the city's budget for fiscal year 2023. They are facing more than $9.5 million in requested public safety measures to put additional police officers on the city's streets and build an additional fire station to keep up with a rapidly increasing population.

Read also said he couldn't approve the city waiving its purchase price knowing Lake Wire Development plans to sell the former municipal land and former Florida Tile site to Atlanta-based developer Carter USA for about $10 million around mid-August. 

Commissioners Stephanie Madden and Sara Robert McCarley viewed the city's waiver of the purchase price along with approval of a 10-year tax increment financing agreement as part of Lakeland's contribution to the 160-acre park.

"I'm passionate about this as the City of Lakeland is onboard and contributed in the beginning," McCarley said. "How exciting this is for future generations."

Carter USA will have a 10-year tax increment financing agreement with the city that will reduce its annual taxes paid to the Lakeland Community Redevelopment Agency by 75% for the first five years, then 50% for the next five years. This is an estimated savings of $3.8 million.

Currently, the land is owned by the nonprofit agency and pays no taxes to the city for the property. Based on a projected development for the Florida Tile site with 15,600 square feet of commercial and 300 multifamily apartments, Carter is anticipated to pay around $154,000 a year in CRA taxes with the tax increment financing in place.

Sara-Megan Walsh can be reached at swalsh@theledger.com or 863-802-7545. Follow on Twitter @SaraWalshFl. 

This article originally appeared on The Ledger: Bonnet Springs Park: City of Lakeland shows support, lowers land price