Publix Super Markets’ technology campus in downtown Lakeland is moving closer to reality — and it may have a dramatic impact on the local economy.
The grocery giant hasn’t disclosed many details about the project. However, documents filed with the city of Lakeland and Polk County reveal that Publix plans to hire at least 200 highly paid IT workers over the next four years and invest more than $121 million in its properties on Lemon Street, Orange Street and Kentucky Avenue.
Incentives for job growth
Project Pomelo: Lakeland and Polk County commissioners approved parallel resolutions Tuesday offering $500,000 in government incentives to an unnamed company that plans to create 100 new information technology jobs. The jobs will pay an average salary of $103,176 — more than double the county’s average wage.
The endeavor was dubbed “Project Pomelo,” however, county documents reveal that Publix is the company involved.
To receive the incentive, the jobs must be filled by December 2028. The city and county will each pay out $250,000 over seven years starting in 2029. Jason Willey, Lakeland’s assistant director of economic development, said the city budgets funds each year for programs that boost the local economy.
Publix also applied for a 90% exemption of ad valorem taxes for spending $10 million on equipment and $61.1 million on structural improvements to two properties:
- The former J.C. Penney building at 321 S. Kentucky Ave., which it leases from the Community Redevelopment Agency.
- The Orange Street parking garage at 309 E. Orange St., which it leases from the city.
The county estimated it would forfeit $365,919 in potential tax revenue annually during the 10-year exemption period from 2026 to 2035 — but the increased economic activity would generate far more. The exemption would not affect taxes owed to the Polk County School Board, Southwest Florida Water Management District and other taxing authorities which are projected to receive $391,268 annually.
Willey said taxes owed to the city of Lakeland are not exempt.
Project Horizon: Two years ago, Publix was approved for similar incentives if it hires 100 IT workers by December 2027 at average wages of $93,526, and makes $50 million in improvements to the former FedEx building it owns at 333 E. Lemon St.
Under the Polk County Bonus Incentive program, Publix can receive $5,000 for each new job paying more than 200% of the area income.
The $500,000 incentive for Project Horizon was split evenly between the city and county, with the city’s share to be paid out over three years once the jobs are filled and the county’s share to be paid out over five years starting in 2025.
Publix was also granted a 75% exemption of ad valorem taxes. The tax break was not the result of negotiations. It was created by a business expansion referendum passed by Polk voters in 2012 and is available to any new or expanding business that meets the published criteria.
The county estimated it would forfeit $183,011 in unlevied taxes each year of the 10-year exemption. But the 25% that was not exempt would be just over $61,000 in new revenue annually. And the school board and other entities would gain more than $246,000 in new revenue annually.
Construction is about to begin
Two-year timeline: Although Project Horizon was approved in March 2022, renovations of the downtown properties are just now getting underway. Willey said Publix will renovate the buildings at 321 S. Kentucky Ave. and 333. E. Lemon St. simultaneously, hoping to finish in 18 to 24 months.
Katie Worthington Decker, senior vice president of the Lakeland Economic Development Council, said working on both buildings simultaneously serves two purposes: “That’s really to mitigate the impact to the downtown as well as have economies of scale.”
The architectural studies should be done in the next several weeks, according to Craig Fennig, managing director of the Lunz Group, which is designing the project. It will be built by Kentucky-based Gray Construction, which has done several other projects for Publix.
Publix Media Relations Manager Hannah Herring declined to comment, saying only, “We are working to finalize the plans and can share more over the coming months.”
Attracting tech talent: Currently, Publix employs about 1,200 IT employees across all of its properties in Lakeland. Some are working in leased space at the Ledger building on Lime Street, the Bank of America Building on Florida Avenue and an office building near Lakeland Linder International Airport.
Worthington Decker said the 200 jobs in the incentive program will be in addition to that, so Publix will have at least 1,400 tech employees when the campus is complete. And the number may be higher. Although 200 is the minimum number of new jobs to earn the incentive funds, she noted that companies often do more.
The jobs from Project Horizon have not been filled yet, Willey said. They will likely be staffed after the office construction is complete.
About Publix's technology campus
There are four main sites for Publix’s downtown technology campus. The two buildings combined have more than 260,000 square feet of office space. The garage and surface lot have about 1,000 parking spaces.
321 S. Kentucky Ave.
The downtown building Publix has occupied the longest is the former J.C. Penney store at 321 S. Kentucky Ave. The boxy building has 119,331 square feet and covers about 1.4 acres. It was built in 1972 and opened as J.C. Penney a year later.
When the downtown store closed in 1990 and relocated to the Lakeland Square Mall, the company donated the building to the Lakeland Downtown Development Authority. Publix signed a long-term lease in 1995.
Lakeland’s Community Redevelopment Agency bought it in 2011 and continued to lease it to Publix. CRA Manager Valerie Vaught said the city is currently renegotiating the lease, recognizing that Publix is about to make a massive investment in the space.
333 E. Lemon St.
Depending on how long you’ve lived in Lakeland, the block-long limestone building at 333 E. Lemon St. is either the former FedEx, Burdines or Maas Brothers building.
The two-story, 142,250-square-foot structure behind City Hall covers 2.1 acres. It was built in 1971 to house the Maas Brothers department store, which was renamed Burdines in 1991 and closed in 1994 when Burdines moved to the Lakeland Square Mall.
The building was purchased by Watkins Motor Lines, which was later acquired by FedEx. Publix bought it in January 2023 for $8.6 million and plans to invest more than $50 million in renovating it.
309 E. Orange St.
The city-owned Orange Street parking garage is connected to both of the other buildings by elevated covered walkways or sky bridges. Publix leases it at below-market rates for employee parking. However, the garage is currently closed for maintenance work.
Greg James, assistant director of Lakeland’s public works department, said the city is repairing a beam on level 3C for just under $75,000. The work is expected to take three to four weeks. Publix also plans to make improvements to the garage.
411 E. Orange St.
When Publix purchased the 2.42-acre property at 411 E. Orange St. in November 2016 for $3.1 million, it was home to the Florida Citrus Mutual building designed by architect Donovan Dean.
The City Commission approved demolition of the building in August 2023, citing its poor condition and asbestos concerns. It was razed in late December 2023 to make way for a landscaped parking lot with a pedestrian plaza and 268 spaces for Publix employees. It is currently surrounded by a chain link fence and privacy screen as the conversion gets underway.
The big picture
Technology and innovation have become increasingly important to grocery stores with self-checkout, inventory and supply chain management, digital coupons, grocery and prescription delivery through services like Instacart, payment processing and more.
Since Publix put down roots in Lakeland nearly 80 years ago, it has grown into one of the nation’s largest grocery chains with 1,361 stores in eight states, more than 253,000 employees and $57.1 billion in sales in 2023.
Creating a centralized technology hub is a strategic investment to mitigate risks, decrease costs and remain competitive in an industry with razor-thin margins.
Lakeland Commissioner Stephanie Madden said Publix’s campus will be good for the city’s economy.
“We have a lot of great jobs, a lot of diversity of jobs in Lakeland. But the high-skill, high-wage jobs is something that we’ve been trying to ramp up. And so it’s exciting to see that we could get this opportunity,” Madden said.
Cindy Glover is a reporter for LkldNow, a nonprofit newsroom providing independent local news for Lakeland. Read at LkldNow.com.
