Land near SunTrax and the new Braddock Road interchange is being positioned for office, industrial and research development under a proposed land-use change that would reshape a fast-developing section of the Polk Parkway near Auburndale.
The proposed amendment would convert about 36 acres west of the Polk Parkway from mixed-use and preservation to Business Park Center, returning much of the site to its earlier business-park designation as growth accelerates around the Braddock Road interchange and the SunTrax transportation testing facility northeast of the property.
“The completion of the new interchange for Braddock Road and the Polk Parkway is transforming the development potential of this area,” the applicant wrote in its justification statement.
The proposed designation would allow office, industrial, retail and research development near the Braddock Road interchange. Applicant materials state the project would help expand employment opportunities in central Polk County and “reduce the labor shed that Polk County currently experiences as residents move east/west along the I-4 corridor.”…