Publix gets Lakeland approval for massive expansion of County Line Road warehouse complex

Sara-Megan Walsh, Lakeland Ledger
·2 min read
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Publix has received approval for a major expansion at a warehouse facility on County Line Road in Lakeland.
Publix has received approval for a major expansion at a warehouse facility on County Line Road in Lakeland.

LAKELAND — Publix Supermarkets has received the green light from Lakeland commissioners for a large expansion at one of its existing sites.

The City Commission voted 6-0 on Monday to approve a major modification to Publix's Planned Unit Development to incorporate roughly 137 acres, located at 5300 Allen K. Breed Parkway, into its existing 2600 County Line Road campus. Mayor Bill Mutz was absent from Monday's meeting.

"The intent is to have a multi-phased warehouse and office development on this campus," Chuck Barmby, Lakeland's planning and transportation manager, said at a prior agenda study on the issue.

With the approval, the Lakeland-based grocer can move forward with building an approximately 450,000-square-foot warehouse distribution center and a 61,535-square-foot return center as the first phase of expansion at the site.

Under city code, the buildings must be setback at least 200 feet from County Line Road. Publix's main buildings can reach a maximum of 90 feet in height, based on how far they are setback. Secondary structures can reach up to 150 feet in height, based on how far back they are set from the property lines.

Publix will also take over the 121,024-square-foot general office building, formerly occupied by Key Safety Systems, already on the property.

Lakeland will require the company to have the two sites be internally connected, Barmby said. The city also will require the grocer to construct sidewalks on Allen K. Breed Parkway from its property to the Polk Parkway, connected to its completed construction of the first-phase warehouse.

This is the first expansion phase proposed by Publix at 2600 County Line Road, Barmby said, to be followed by three additional phases that will each require further amendments to the land's PUD and additional traffic analysis of the impacts of each phase.

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The city's traffic experts believe the majority of vehicular traffic will use Allen K. Breed Parkway, which is good given the current congestion on County Line Road. There is a lot of speculative growth and warehouse construction happening along County Line Road.

"That can be a real issue for County Line Road," Barmby told the commission. "As much as is being developed on our side of the road, there's a lot being developed on the Hillsborough side, and we are still lagging behind on getting the funding for longer-term operational improvements."

Barmby said he estimated Lakeland's roadway improvements at County Line Road and U.S. 92 had about five years of functional capacity left at the current rate of growth.

"There's a need to add more, but we need more partners to help provide the funding," Barmby said. "That's key."

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

This article originally appeared on The Ledger: Publix gets OK for big expansion of County Line Road warehouse complex