Polk and Lakeland governments are being asked to sweeten the pot by a half-million dollars to attract an unidentified company considering bringing 100 high-pay jobs to downtown Lakeland, which could be investing $50 million in Lakeland.
The Polk County Commission approved up to $250,000 in incentives on Tuesday, and the Lakeland City Commission is expected to do the same on Monday.
An existing building in downtown Lakeland is one of the places under inquiry in a confidential venture that is code-named Project Horizon by Enterprise Florida, the city of Lakeland’s business development manager, Jason Willey, told city commissioners on Friday.
According to Willey, Project Horizon anticipates salaries averaging $93,526 a year, twice the Polk County average, he said. If all 100 positions are filled at that average salary, the project would be eligible for $500,000 in incentives — paid half by the city and half by the county — under the Polk County Bonus Incentive Program.
The Polk County Bonus Incentive Program allows incentives of $5,000 per job to attract companies whose average wage is twice the county average, he said. Projects that get incentives at this level are rare, he told commissioners.
The incentives would be paid over a three-year period once the new jobs are filled and verified, according to a resolution that city commissioners will consider Monday.
The Lakeland Economic Development Council and Central Florida Development Council have been involved with the effort to land Project Horizon in Lakeland, Willey said.
Julie Townsend, executive director of the Lakeland Downtown Development Authority, said Friday she does not know what building is under consideration, but it would be a plus for downtown.
Find out who the unidentified is and what country owns them!!!!