Gateway to Growth – The City of Lakeland, TN

The City of Lakeland is located east of Memphis in Shelby County, Tennessee. The city consists of residential and commercial areas tucked into rolling countryside and mature woodlands. The area has experienced remarkable growth over the last 20 years, basically doubling in population. With a growing local economy, excellent schools, and expansive neighbourhoods, the area continues to develop and attract new residents and businesses to the region every year. This rapid expansion has however brought with it the challenge of maintaining and developing the infrastructure needed to meet this growth, especially in areas that might otherwise not be economically feasible for developers.

The City of Lakeland realised the only way they could meet this challenge was by building effective partnerships and collaborations with developers and the public and having a shared vision for the future of the community. The City, therefore, set up a series of TIF districts to attract and reassure developers. A TIF district is a pre-determined set of properties (parcels) that have been identified for commercial, industrial, and/or residential development or redevelopment around which a boundary is set.

TIF, or Tax Increment Financing, is a method that uses tax increases within a specific district to fund projects in underdeveloped or underutilized areas. The idea is to borrow against the future increase in property tax revenues to create funding for public or private projects.

So far there have been three TIF districts approved by the City. The first was the Lake District, followed by Lakeland Commons, and the third and most recent was the Lakeland Gateway. This means the City overcame the cost obstacles that were preventing development and private investment from occurring, whilst also not raising local property taxes to fund the public investment.

This approach is bringing the amenities, recreational resources, and childcare needed to support the city's continued economic growth whilst also contributing to the community feel Lakeland prides itself on.