We’ve been hearing announcements on various developments – from the opening of Bonnet Springs and the Florida Children’s Museum to Lakeland Central Park’s first building and the new Aldi store — coming to Swan City. In 2022, Lakeland’s business and economic landscape have only continued to grow.

In case you skimmed over some of this groundbreaking news, here’s a quick re-cap.

Bonnet Springs Park
| Rendering by Sasaki Design

Bonnet Springs Park, 1025 George Jenkins Blvd.

Plans for this privately funded 160+ acre park included bike paths, several playground areas, nature trails, botanical gardens, and much more. And don’t worry about parking, Bonnet Springs Park is set to have 6,000+ parking spaces. The park is opened in October 2022.

Explorations V Children’s Museum at Bonnet Springs Park | Rendering provided by Explorations V Children’s Museum

Florida Children’s Museum, 1025 George Jenkins Blvd.

To awaken the explorer in your entire family, the Florida Children’s Museum opened its doors for the community with 47,800 square feet for children to let their imaginations run wild. Formerly known as Lakeland’s Explorations V Museum for 30-years, this relocation was also be at Bonnet Springs Park and had a grand opening in November 2022. From hands-on activities to interactive experiences, you don’t want to miss all this museum has to offer.

Lakeland Central Park | Rendering by Aerial Innovations via LEDC

Lakeland Central Park, on Polk Parkway

Construction is well under way for Lakeland Central Park’s first building. Located on the Polk Parkway, this logistics park will give easy access to all major freeways, including I-75, I-4, and US 27. Tenants include: Advanced Discount Auto Parts, an Amazon Distribution Center, DHL, O’Reilly Auto Parts, Publix, and more.

Downtown West Gateway | Conceptual renderings provided by The Lunz Group and The Apiary

Downtown West Gateway, south of Lime Street

Local architectural firm, The Lunz Group, recently announced their latest project to renovate the Ledger building into a brand new multi-use facility. This 17-acre site will feature parking spaces, offices, retail, and residential spaces. This brand new development will also feature pedestrian and bike paths for the community.

Lake Wire apartments | Rendering via Charlan Brock Architects (CBA)

Lake Wire Apartments, 315 W. Peachtree St.

This new development, located to the east of Bonnet Springs Park, will offer luxury apartments of 84 units in this four-story building. If city permits follow through, construction could begin as early as the beginning of 2023. Residents of this development will have access to a beautiful lake view, clubhouse area, pool, and other recreational amenities.

Lake Wire Apartments on Florida Tile Site, 3535 Reynolds Rd.

A new retail and housing development coming to the old site of Florida Tile has been approved by the board of the Lakeland Downtown Development Authority. This 22-acre site, which sits west of Lake Wire, adjacent to Bonnet Springs Park (between Sikes Boulevard + George Jenkins Boulevard), will be home to 630 apartments and numerous retail shops and restaurants.

New Aldi site in construction | Photo by: LALtoday team

Aldi, 4532 S. Florida Ave.

At the corner of South Florida Avenue and Alamo Street, Aldi opened a South Lakeland location, taking the place of what used to be Golden Corral. The store of 19,209-square feet offers a wide variety of affordable European grocery goods. Aldi is known for its healthy food options and eco-friendly shopping experience. The store opened in the fall of 2022.

Lakeland Regional Health Campus, at Kathleen Road and I4

Lakeland Regional Health has broken ground at its northwest campus. This facility will double its square footage to feature emergency and urgent care units. The medical group plans to utilize this branch for its new program of Graduate Medical Education.

Lakeland Regional Health ER, 5610 S. Florida Ave.

In conjunction with its northwest campus, LRH is looking to open an emergency room campus off South Florida Avenue to better meet the community’s needs.

Publix (Oakbridge location), 3636 Harden Boulevard

Starting in September of 2022, this Publix location demolished its current site to rebuild the store to meet Publix’s current upgrades. The goal is to create more efficiency across the board for all Publix stores to enrich customer’s shopping experience––keeping it a true pleasure.

(Psst… This list isn’t meant to be comprehensive. If there is a construction project you’d like to share with us, send it our way. We love hearing about new developments + businesses.)