Central Bark? Downtown Lakeland May Get Long-Sought Dog Park

Downtown Lakeland goes to the dogs — in a great way.

The City Commission will vote Monday on a $283,000 contract to build a brand new canine park on 1.18 acres of vacant land throughout from the Lakeland Fire Department’s major station at East Main Street and East Rose Street.

The land close to the downtown Park & Ride lot was deeded to town by the Florida Department of Transportation in 2021.

City Manager Shawn Sherrouse mentioned Rodda Construction was the one bidder on the undertaking. If the fee approves the contract, development would begin inside 90 days and would take roughly 9 months — placing the goal opening date in September 2024.

Plans for the park embody a 6-foot ornamental fence, six gates, boulder retaining partitions, paved paths and benches, a canine water fountain, canine waste station, a canine wash, a rain backyard and signage.

The park would additionally home three canine sculptures fabricated from scrap metallic, which Sherrouse known as “some of the neatest doggone public art that you’re going to see.”

Pam Page, deputy director of Parks and Recreation, mentioned town bought the sculptures by Georgia-based artist Doug Makemson in 2015, when planning for the park started in earnest. They have been in storage ever since.

Page mentioned the park is the results of a grassroots effort impressed by “a little dog who was considered the mayor of Lakeland.” Her identify was Sparky, and she or he was a Portuguese podengo who began life at Polk County Animal Control. She was featured in an issue of Lakeland Magazine in October 2014.

Sparky held court docket on the former Two Hens and a Hound customized framing and reward store on South Kentucky Ave earlier than passing away in May 2016. Her house owners created a Facebook web page with the working identify of “Downtown Lakeland Central Bark” and raised $6,742 for the undertaking. The funds have been in escrow with town since March 2018.

The group was initially eyeing a .6-acre lot additional north, however Page mentioned that parcel was offered to The Joinery.

The present website, which is almost twice the scale, serves as a stormwater retention pond. The bulk of the property is about three toes decrease than the encompassing space. Page mentioned it not often fills with water and sometimes drains inside a day or two when there’s a heavy rain occasion. But if that occurs, the park will shut.

“The walking path will be around the rim of the park and will not be submerged,” Page mentioned.

Page mentioned town has a “very creative name” for the park that it plans to copyright. “We’ll release the name once we have that completed,” she mentioned.

The park would be the city’s fourth dedicated dog park. However, in contrast to the others — Dog Leg Woods, Lake Crago Dog Park and Cook Park Dog Park — this one won’t have separate sections for small and enormous dogs.

Page mentioned that’s due to its small footprint. However, she expects the park shall be extremely popular.

“There’s such a bevy of apartment complexes within a two-block radius, it’ll be heavily utilized,” she predicted.

The undertaking shall be funded with:

• $6,742 from neighborhood donations.
• $50,000 from Parks & Recreation influence charges.
• $100,000 from the sale of land to The Joinery.
• $126,155 from the Downtown Community Redevelopment Agency.