Publix bringing tech campus to downtown Lakeland; will demolish old Citrus Mutual building

Sara-Megan Walsh, The Ledger
·3 min read
Publix has won tax incentives to purchase and renovate a downtown building that once housed Maas Brothers department store, then Watkins Motor Lines and finally FedEx. The grocer is looking for a new home for its technology services department, but has also looked in other cities, including Atlanta.
Publix has won tax incentives to purchase and renovate a downtown building that once housed Maas Brothers department store, then Watkins Motor Lines and finally FedEx. The grocer is looking for a new home for its technology services department, but has also looked in other cities, including Atlanta.

LAKELAND — Publix Super Markets Inc. has selected the former FedEx building in downtown Lakeland as the site of its new technology campus.

Matthew Lyons, chief planner for Lakeland, said Publix has purchased 333 E. Lemon St. The company currently leases a portion of The Ledger's building for some of its IT workers.

Lakeland lawyer Sergio Garcia, representing Publix, confirmed this at the city's Planning and Zoning Board meeting on Tuesday morning.

"Yes, they will be adding employees," Garcia said.

Previously: Publix gains tax breaks, public funding to renovate former FedEx building in downtown Lakeland

Parking lots: Publix says it wants a new parking lot downtown. But Lakeland's trying to get rid of those

High-rises planned: The Ledger site could include Downtown Lakeland's next multifamily housing complex

Publix Director of Communications Maria Brous did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

The Lakeland-based grocer has been engaged in a national search for its new technology campus since at least March. Other locations under consideration included Atlanta and North Carolina.

The former FedEx building covers more than two acres and has an assessed value of about $7.4 million, according to county records. The Polk County Property Appraiser's website has not yet been updated to reflect how much Publix paid for the 142,000-square-foot building.

In 2021, FedEx paid approximately $154,000 in state, county and city taxes.

Publix secured $26 million in tax breaks and public funding valued at $500,0000 from Polk County to choose Lakeland over the competing cities.

The county and city of Lakeland will each give Publix $250,000 over the next three years, for a total of $500,000, if it creates the 100 new full-time jobs promised. The company said the technology positions would pay an annual average wage of $93,500, or about double median wage countywide.

Publix expects to spend at least $40 million in real property improvements, the purchase of equipment and other tangible personal property.

Publix wants to demolish the former Florida Citrus Mutual building and use the property for surface parking. But Lakeland has been trying to convert several surface-level lots downtown into larger developments.
Publix wants to demolish the former Florida Citrus Mutual building and use the property for surface parking. But Lakeland has been trying to convert several surface-level lots downtown into larger developments.

Also on Tuesday, the company received unanimous approval from the Planning and Zoning Board to tear down the former Florida Citrus Mutual building at 411 E. Orange St. and repave it for a surface parking lot.

The lot is just south of Orange Street and east of Massachusetts Avenue from the building that will house its new tech campus.

Garcia said the company plans to demolish the existing building and then pave it to add 71 spaces for a total of 268 parking spaces. The plan calls for repaving the north side of the lot, adding improved landscaping and addressing storm water drainage issues stemming from the site.

Chuck Barmby, Lakeland's planning and transportation manager, said the city has placed a five-year time limit on Publix's conditional use of the site as surface parking in a C-6, or downtown commercial, zoned area.

"The concern of staff is we end up with a long-term surface parking lot between downtown and Lake Morton," Barmby said.

Garcia said he is not aware whether Publix has any future development plans for the site at this time, including a parking garage.

Julie Townsend, executive director of the Lakeland Downtown Development Authority, said the agency is "not thrilled" to lose a building in downtown Lakeland but supportive of Publix as a whole.

"t’s a very important site for downtown. We don’t want to see it be surface parking in perpetuity," Townsend said. "With the conditions the city has proposed, we can move forward and see something amazing built on this site in the near future."

Publix will be expected to submit an annual analysis to the city beyond the initial five years if it wants to extend its use of the property for surface level parking, Barmby said. The company will be asked how many employees it has downtown versus what parking spaces are available, and whether parking can be found elsewhere.

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: Publix plans to set up its new tech campus in downtown Lakeland