Lakeland to vote on proposal to bring nearly 400 apartments to Pipkin Creek Road

Sara-Megan Walsh, The Ledger
·2 min read
Lakeland commissioners will vote Monday on whether to grant a zoning request to allow nearly 400 apartments at the southeast corner of Parkway Frontage Road South and Pipkin Creek Road in Lakeland.
Lakeland commissioners will vote Monday on whether to grant a zoning request to allow nearly 400 apartments at the southeast corner of Parkway Frontage Road South and Pipkin Creek Road in Lakeland.

LAKELAND — Lakeland officials will be asked to consider a change of zoning that will make way for nearly 400 apartments to be built near the Polk Parkway in Southwest Lakeland.

Arizona-based developer Alliance Residential Company has submitted plans to build up to 120 apartments on 5.75 acres off the southeast corner of Parkway Frontage Road South and Pipkin Creek Road. If approved, the developer will combine it with property to the east to construct a 391-unit multifamily apartment complex.

City commissioners are scheduled to decide Monday whether to approve a change of zoning for 5.76 acres of land from suburban corridor to suburban neighborhood. The property was previously approved to have up to 20,0000 square feet of retail and 45,000 square feet of office, hotel and industry space built on it as part of the Lakeside Preserve.

Attorney Timothy Campbell of Clark, Campbell, Lancaster, Workman & Airth, P.A. presented the new proposed plans to Lakeland's Planning and Zoning Board in mid-March. Campbell said the area "has not been an ideal location on a one-way frontage road for commercial use," and that's why it's sat undeveloped for years.

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The developer's application also notes the location is near two established shopping centers, Lakeside Village and Oakbridge Shopping Center.

Instead, the developer aims to purchase the adjacent property of nearly 17 acres from the Lakeland Housing Authority to combine and build a 391-unit multifamily apartment complex. It would be made up of 16 three-story apartment buildings with amenities such as a clubhouse and recreational facilities.

A rendering of the complete apartment complex proposed by Alliance Residential Company, combining both the property in question and the parcel owned by the Lakeland Housing Authority.
A rendering of the complete apartment complex proposed by Alliance Residential Company, combining both the property in question and the parcel owned by the Lakeland Housing Authority.

Under its traffic assessment, the developer argues the multi-family development would generate 2,723 daily trips, "substantially less than the combined office and commercial uses that are currently allowed."

The city has put conditions in the change of zoning that would require the complex to have a singular entrance on Pipkin Creek Road that will align with Village Road. The developer will also have to build an access road to connect the single-family and multi-family parts of the development.

The city's Planning and Zoning Board unanimously recommended the commission approved this project.

The City Commission meets 9 a.m. Monday at City Hall, 228 S. Massachusetts Ave.

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: Nearly 400-unit apartment complex up for vote in Lakeland