A developer has revised a plan for controversial Lake Miriam apartments

The developer has submitted plans to reduce the size of this apartment complex adjacent to Lake Miriam Publix shopping center.

Tampa-based lawyer S. Elise Batsel submitted revised construction plans to Lakeland officials on April 15 on behalf of Preferred Apartments Communities for an apartment complex at 4730 South Florida Ave. The complex would be on the south side of the property, between the shopping center and Lake Miriam Drive.

Due to these revisions, the City Commission will not take up the issue at its Monday meeting.

Commissioner Mike Musick and Mayor Bill Mutz said they believed multifamily housing would be a better use of the space than commercial, but struggled to accept the four-story buildings originally proposed by the developer. 

In the revised plans, the developer has proposed to reduce all six proposed buildings to no more than three stories.

Commissioner Bill Read told the developer in April he would like to see the unit count drop below 200 before he would consider approving the project. PAC didn’t quite meet Read’s demand. The revised plan drops the total apartments from 244 to 211. 

The downsized proposal will lessen the project’s overall housing density as requested by Commissioner Phillip Walker. The original estimate of 20.21 units per acre has dropped to 17.48 in the new plan. It’s unclear whether this change will satisfy Walker. 

The major issue nearly all 16 residents had at the April 4 hearing on the proposed apartment complex was its potential impact on local traffic —, particularly along Lake Miriam Drive.

The developer has also offered to increase the total number of parking spaces from the original 356 to 368. That’s approximately 1.75 spaces per apartment. It will also offer 48 spaces for bike parking, of which 16 are covered. 

City Attorney Palmer Davis said the city has yet to schedule dates for the first and second readings of the revised plans before the City Commission.