A new district headquarters for the Lakeland School System and a residential project first approved by the suburb 15 years ago are moving forward after the Thursday, Sept. 14 meeting of the Lakeland Municipal Planning & Design Review Commission

The commission recommended approval to the city’s Board of Commissioners (BOC) for both projects — a site plan and building elevations for an LSS administration building along with an outline plan for the Equestria residential project.

The school district’s 13,000-square-foot administration building is destined for a portion of a 23-acre parcel off U.S. 70 across from Lakeland City Hall. The site, acquired by LSS in February of last year, is within the Lakeland Meadows development. 

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“We hope to start construction in November and move in during the summer of 2024,” LSS Superintendent Ted Horrell said. “The rest of the site is reserved for a future elementary or intermediate school.”

He estimates the project cost at roughly $3 million.

Special parking considerations deviating from the city’s zoning ordinance include parking for the general public in front of the building with a separate area in the back for employees.

Michael Terry, partner and senior vice president with Renaissance Group, noted that since it will be a public building a level of security is necessary.

“This particular building will house the area where the school board meeting will be every month,” Terry said. “Also, this building requires a lot of meetings not only with the parents and children but also with employees. And we feel like it’s in the best interest for the employees at this building that there’s a level of security.” 

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Every part of the building’s interior will be secured and designed to keep the general public and employees separated.

“With these government buildings I think we do have to consider the security when we design these things,” said commission chairman Wyatt Bunker, pointing out that the city will one day need similar designs for a police station or public works facility.

“I think (with) some of the sensitive nature of what can happen in this building, I think it’s important,” Commissioner Amber Hitchcock said.

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The commission also endorsed the outline plan for the 86-acre Equestria planned development on Memphis-Arlington Road adjacent to The Grove and Oakwood Grove neighborhoods. Renaissance Development LLC plans 119 homes there, with nearly half of the acreage devoted to open space.

The land was once used as an Arabian horse farm, according to development partner Doug Swink.

Equestria was originally approved in 2008 before the Great Recession hit and stalled the project.

“What we did is we basically went back to the Equestria plan that had already been approved in the past, with some slight modifications,” Swink said.

Some commissioners expressed concerns over traffic issues possibly created by the project. Commissioner Jim Atkinson alleviated some of those concerns by explaining why it is necessary for Lakeland Trace to cut through to Memphis-Arlington Road.

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“I think it’s absolutely needed to get folks out. I think the area was sort of planned out from the early 2000s with that in mind,” he said. “In my opinion, there’s enough quality and benefit to this to move forward, and let’s fill in some details as we go to ensure quality.”

If approved by the BOC, a detailed preliminary development plan will be the next step for the developer.