45,000-square-foot warehouse proposed on Old Polk City Road

A 45,000-square-foot warehouse has been proposed for an 11.29-acre site on Old Polk City Road, signaling the first wave of development on that specific stretch near the CenterState Logistics Park.

The proposal, submitted on behalf of property owner Juan E. Santiago Garcia by Kendra Andrews of the Sloan Engineering Group, is currently heading to the Lakeland City Commission.

Here is a breakdown of what the project entails and the hurdles it has to clear to move forward:

Project Details & Hurdles

• Location & Scope: The 11.29-acre site is located north of State Road 33, heavily positioning it near the critical Interstate 4 and SR-33 freight corridor. At 45,000 square feet, it is notably smaller than the massive distribution centers nearby, but it marks a distinct northward expansion of the area’s logistics footprint.
• The Jurisdiction Shift: Because the land currently sits in unincorporated Polk County, the developer is requesting voluntary annexation into the City of Lakeland. Along with annexation, they are seeking a Business Park future land-use designation and I-2 (Medium Industrial) zoning to bring it in line with surrounding industrial properties.
• Environmental Constraints: The approval process won’t be entirely straightforward. Portions of the property contain wetlands, and the entire tract sits inside the Green Swamp Area of Critical State Concern. Because of this, the project is subject to state-level review. City staff have noted that to protect the wetlands, actual building development will have to be tightly concentrated on the upland eastern portion of the land.

What We Don’t Know Yet

The application remains in its early stages, leaving a few major question marks:

• No Named Tenant: The filing does not disclose a prospective occupant, so it’s unclear if this is being custom-built for a specific user or added as speculative industrial space to the market.
• Timeline & Cost: A formal construction timeline and project valuation have not yet been made public record.

The proposal highlights the ongoing tension between industrial expansion along Lakeland’s prime transit corridors and the environmental preservation required by the Green Swamp region.