ICYMI, The Yard on Mass vacated its space off of North Massachusetts Avenue near Talbot House and Haus 820 at the beginning of July. Now, the Lakeland Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA) is on the hunt for a new tenant to take over the space.

The CRA accepted proposals for the Yard on Mass space from July 1 to Aug. 15. During that time, two entrepreneurs submitted complete proposals to the CRA with their ideas, which included turning the space into a supper + jazz club or a location for themed children's parties and events.

What could you picture taking over this space? | Photo via Lakeland CED

Proposals were reviewed by the CRA's Selection Committee — a group of Lakeland leaders ranging from economic development experts to local business owners — and then scored on a scale from 1-100 based on qualifications, experience, financial capacity, and business plan. The supper club received a score of 55.2, and the themed party space received a 48.2.

Essentially, this means that the Selection Committee felt that the CRA should go back to the drawing board + consider more proposals. Before that can happen, the recommendation will need to be formally presented to the CRA's Advisory Board, followed by the Lakeland City Commission.

The extensive outdoor space on the Yard on Mass property is the real star of the show. | Photo via Lakeland CED

The former Yard on Mass site encompasses 10,800 sqft. This includes a 2,522-sqft building with an indoor bar area + a small amount of indoor seating, as well as 8,278 sqft-yard that includes open-air space, covered cabanas, a large porch, and several parking spots originally designed for food trucks. There are also 66 parking spaces available for patrons along North Massachusetts and Kentucky Avenues.

What Lakelanders are saying

With all of the information about the former Yard on Mass space in mind, we turned to you to ask what you'd like to see there.

43.2% said a live music or entertainment venue
27.3% said a restaurant or food truck park
5.8% said a retail store
3.6% said a bar
20.1% said they had other ideas

Several respondents expressed a desire to see something similar to the jazz + supper club come to fruition, while others expressed their affinity for a place that will play country tunes.

Reader Mariah A. also mentioned how the space could be utilized for Catapult Kitchen members to do pop-ups, with Reader Donald B. backing the idea up and sharing that the space could be a good site for budding businesses.