Consultants urge coordinated land‑use and infrastructure strategy for South Polk to capture industrial growth

GAI Consultants presented the South Polk “Pathways to Prosperity” study, outlining a regional strategy to steer industrial growth along State Road 60, US 17 and Highway 27 while protecting key environmental systems.

Blake Drury, the consultant leading the presentation, said the study area covers about 848 square miles and includes Winter Haven, Lake Wales, Frostproof, Fort Meade, Bartow and Mulberry. He said the area is a net exporter of workers and has shifted from agriculture to transportation and trade, creating demand for a fuller mix of industrial buildings.

"One of the really important findings of the study is that if you drill down into that space of like 50,000 to 250,000 feet ... there's about 3,800,000 square feet of that," Drury said, arguing the shortage of modern, divisible industrial buildings constrains local firms and supplier networks.

The study recommends four strategy areas — land use, transportation, stormwater resilience and infrastructure — and three core outcomes: meeting market demand for modern industrial spaces, moving people and goods safely and strengthening natural systems. Drury emphasized protecting industrially designated land: although roughly 14,000 acres are designated for industrial use, much of it is not ready to develop because of infrastructure or ownership patterns.

On data centers, presenters and regional staff said the document noted interest but did not treat data centers as a strategy. Venetia Frazier of the Central Florida Regional Planning Council told commissioners the "actual document itself doesn't go into detail about data centers" and said other, more appropriate uses were highlighted for South Polk.

The presentation stressed infrastructure readiness — roads, water, power and broadband — as determinative. Drury flagged State Road 60 as one of the most stressed segments and said creating redundant north–south and east–west connections would reduce congestion and safety pressures.

Commissioners asked that the slide deck be provided; staff said the full report is still under review and will be released after partner engagement, with the slide deck placed in commissioners’ boxes in the near term. The consultants said local governments can pursue a range of approaches to expand available industrial buildings, from public ownership to incentives and public–private co-participation.

The study team framed the plan as a strategic framework — not a land‑use or capital improvements plan — to help partner jurisdictions align actions around airports, intermodal facilities and existing industrial clusters while connecting a primary conservation network of wetlands and floodplains.