Lakeland has seen plenty of growth in recent years and areas such as the Interstate 40 interchange and the U.S. 70 corridor are prime for more controlled development, Michael Walker, Lakeland city manager, said Wednesday.

Walker, the guest speaker at the Lakeland Area Chamber of Commerce luncheon, provided updates on projects such as the 100-acre Ashmont mixed-use development and the Lakeland Gateway TIF, along with Lakeland Town Square. The work highlighted the economic boost the development provided Lakeland while bringing more services to the suburb.

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For example, grading and infrastructure work already are underway for Ashmont.

“We’re hopeful that within the next couple of months we’ll have some exciting news about who some of those anchor tenants may be there,” said Walker, a certified public accountant who was appointed city manager in 2022 after serving as the Lakeland’s finance and human resources director.

He also touched on other redevelopment efforts in the Lakeland Gateway TIF district, including the acquisition of several properties over the past couple of years. The city now owns five separate sites within the district, including the former Econo Lodge and Relax Inn, two businesses that were eyesores at the southern entrances to the suburb.

Th0se five parcels of were purchased without any new debt for the city, Walker said.

 The new Lakeland Community Center, owned by the city and operated by the YMCA, will occupy the former Econo Lodge site on Huff N Puff Road near Canada Road. The facility is expected to include an early learning or child care center, something Lakeland needs since it is considered a child care desert.

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“Before too long, we’ll have a great amenity right there in the gateway into our city just in time to be in support of all of the new development across the way at Ashmont,” Walker said.

Over on the city’s north side, along U.S. 70, there is new development with residential projects and Lakeland Town Square. The commercial aspects of the development in that corridor should continue to enhance rising sales taxes, a revenue stream that helped the city avoid a property tax increase for the upcoming fiscal year.

“We’ve seen some really good growth in sales tax revenue for the City of Lakeland over the past couple of years, especially since COVID,” Walker said. “Once people were staying home during those years and online shopping a lot more, that creates a nexus in Lakeland (and) we got that sales tax revenue.”

Among the city priorities is working to increase the presence of the Shelby County Sheriff’s Office, including a civic complex with a 4,000-square-foot SCSO substation.

Lakeland Chamber President Wil Ashworth commended Walker’s exemplary leadership as the city continues to grow.

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“His dedication has fortified the collaborative synergy between the chamber and the city, propelling our community toward progress,” Ashworth said.

Lakeland Mayor Josh Roman was also quick to applaud the many duties Walker has assumed since becoming city manager two years ago, including serving as the Industrial Development Board president and filling in as interim finance director until the city fills that vacant position.

“Coming from a spreadsheet background, I’m not sure he knew just how good he would be in this position,” Roman said. “But we are very fortunate.”