Developer to pay roughly $1 million in school impact mitigation for proposed 300‑unit apartment complex, district staff say

Polk County School District staff briefed the board on Aug. 12 about a proposed proportionate‑share mitigation agreement for a 300‑unit multifamily development near U.S. 27. Staff said the district’s student‑generation model estimates the project would produce 37 elementary, 19 middle and 22 high school stations, and that, given current local deficiencies, the developer would pay the calculated elementary share.

Lucas McLemore (presenting) said the district’s cost‑per‑station factor from the Florida Department of Education produces a per‑station figure of just under $29,000. Based on the developer’s deficiency at the elementary level, staff said the mitigation payment would total just over $1,000,000 and would be earmarked for a new elementary school identified in the district’s five‑year capital plan, near Massey Road and FDC Grove Road.

McLemore said the development is in the same general area served by Bella Ceta at the elementary and middle levels and is zoned for Ridge Community High School; he noted the district’s concurrency methodology applies adjacency when calculating high‑school components, which in this case reduces the amount collected for high‑school seats because nearby high‑school capacity is treated as available.

Board members asked whether the adjacency methodology affects revenue collection for the high school component; staff confirmed adjacency can satisfy high school demand under current methodology and said the district is working to update the interlocal agreement governing concurrency rules.

The mitigation agreement will be presented as an action item at a future board meeting for formal approval if the board wishes to proceed.