Lakeland finds land for long-sought fire station north of I-4. See where
After nearly five years of searching, Lakeland officials have entered into contract to buy land for a new Fire Station 8.
Lakeland commissioners will hear details of a contract to purchase 2.3 vacant acres off the southwest corner of Sleepy Hill Road and Mall Hill Drive for $1.35 million at their Friday morning agenda study. The contract is contingent upon commissioners' approval.The undeveloped land is tucked behind Lakeland Square mall, about three-quarters of a mile west of U.S. 98, and opposite the main entrance to the TerraLargo community, according to a real estate brochure from Broadway Real Estate Services.
Broadway Real Estate lists the property for a sale as "The Shoppes of Sleepy Hill" with an asking price of $1.59 million, according to its website. It estimates there are 130,000 residents within a 5-mile radius. The land falls within the city limits and is serviced by Lakeland utilities.
The property is owned by AM Cassell 2 LLC, which purchased it in November 2022 for $775,000, according to the Polk County Property Appraiser's website. AM Cassell 2 LLC was registered in October 2022 to Keishun Cassell, a Lakeland-based AllState Insurance agent, according to SunBiz.org. The Ledger has attempted to reach out to Cassell for comment, but he could not be contacted immediately. The contract comes about five years after Lakeland Fire Chief Doug Riley first approached city commissioners about the needs for a fire station north of I-4 in 2019. The subject of a land purchase for a new station was revisited during city's February 2022 Strategic Planning Retreat.
In 2022, Riley said he hoped the city could find a suitable 2-acre property priced at or below $1.5 million — which this proposed deal is under. By building a new Fire Station 8, Riley said he hoped to address the high emergency call volume being answered by responders of Fire Station 3, located on U.S. 98 near the Simpson Park Recreation Center and Larry R. Jackson public library branch.
In the proposed city memorandum, it states the new fire station will be approximately 8,500 square feet in size. The building's layout should contain a living quarters, a full kitchen, offices and an exercise space. It estimates an initial staffing of six employees, with an additional three employees. These responders would help operate one fire engine and one fire rescue truck on site, with one fire engine on reserve in the building's third bay. It's anticipated Fire Station 8 would respond to about 3,600 emergency calls per year.
Affordable housing: As 2 new complexes open in Lakeland, more than 1,700 are on a waiting list
While there have been numerous mentions over the years of incorporating a police substation into Fire Station 8, there is no mention of it in the city's memorandum on the land purchase. The city earmarked $250,000 of impact fees for a police substation at Fire Station 8 in its fiscal year 2024 Public Improvement Fund budget.
If commissioners approve the deal, the contract states the city will pay for the land in cash with a closing date set for June 3. The city had at least $1.8 million set aside for the land purchase in its fiscal year 2023 Public Improvement Fund's Capital Improvement Plan that has has been carried forward.
Lakeland set aside $900,000 of its coronavirus relief funds provided under the the American Rescue Plan Act to purchase a fire truck for Station 8. The truck has already been ordered by the city.
Sara-Megan Walsh can be reached at swalsh@theledger.com or 863-802-7545. Follow on X @SaraWalshFl.
This article originally appeared on The Ledger: Lakeland enters $1.35M contract to purchase land for Fire Station 8
