New year brings new changes to Lakeland

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Jillian Kurtz

Local Starbucks to move

The Starbucks currently located on the corner of South Florida Avenue and Beacon Road will be relocated to the Southgate Shopping Center next to Five Guys. Construction on the new building is estimated to be completed by the end of April.

 The coffee chain has been in its current location for 15 years and when it was first transitioned from an old BP gas station. Although the spot is known by many Lakelanders, the lot has limited parking spaces and is considerably smaller compared to other modern Starbucks ocations.

“I have worked there (Beacon Road Starbucks) for about two years,” Danielle Douglin said. “I’m a local student, so I also work over the summer. I think that with a bigger location, it will be busier, but I don’t think it will affect my job all that much.”

City of Lakeland app

The City of Lakeland announced a new mobile application in an effort to get residents more connected with city services, events, news releases and government officials. The app is free to download and is available in the iTunes and Google Play stores by searching “Lakelandgov.” The app gives residents the ability to report any issues throughout the community and also gives a contact list for different departments throughout the city. The updated app replaces the old one, Link2Lakeland.

 “The app was developed in-house by a team from the Department of Information Technology and the City’s Communications Department,” Director of Communications for the City of Lakeland Kevin Cook said. “Our goal is to have an informed and engaged citizenry and we will continue to develop technologies to help us reach that goal.”

Lakeland Ice Arena

Polk County’s first year-round ice skating rink is set to open this upcoming summer at the Lakeland Ice Arena, located at 3395 W Memorial Blvd. According to their website, the rink will be open to the public, but will have a focus on bringing hockey to Lakeland. Registration is already open on their website for those with an interest in hockey to be notified of updates.

Nanette Granville is the Co-Owner/Director of Hospitality & Special Events at Lakeland Ice Arena according to her Facebook page and commented on a post that there will be travel teams based out of the arena.

More information can be found at lakelandicearena.com and @lakelandice on Instagram.

New music venue: Union Hall

Singer Dan Signor aspires to bring top talent to the Dixieland Historic District in Lakeland with the construction and opening of Union Hall.

Union Hall will be about 3,000 square feet and will feature professional sound equipment, lighting and a stage. A 22-foot-long bar will be one of the main features along with outdoor patio seating and large garage doors. Check out their office in Vancouver. The venue will be open Tuesday through Saturday from noon to midnight, with live music featured Wednesday through Saturday. It will also available to rent based on their 2019 event calendar, which is yet to be released.

The hall expected to open sometime in March, according to the Lakeland Ledger. Updates and more information can be found at @union.hall on Instagram.

Crumb & Get It closed

The small, locally owned bakery, Crumb and Get It announced on their Facebook page in December that it would be closing its doors for business on Dec. 31, 2018. The post received a lot of traction, with many customers announcing their sadness regarding the closing. Crumb and Get It opened its doors to Lakeland back in 2015 and the name was well-known throughout the Lakeland community.

On Jan. 9, a new post was made on the Facebook page, announcing that the bakery is looking for “a motivated new buyer.” The sale would include the business name, recipes, equipment, some start-up supplies, and consulting to get the business back up and running, according to the post.

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