Auburndale, Florida

AUBURNDALE , FLOR IDA Central Florida - it is home to the Lake Myrtle Sports Complex, which houses the Florida Youth Soccer Association, the USA Waterski and Wake Sports Foundation, Polk County Sports Marketing, and the Pan-American Lacrosse Association. Auburndale is also the home of the Baynard House Museum, which is included on the National Register of Historic places, the Auburndale Speedway, and the Auburndale TECO trail for cyclists, joggers, and inline skaters. Amy Palmer is Director of Auburndale’s Community Development Department, which provides strategies to enhance development, revitalization, and preservation of the city’s character, neighborhoods, and natural environment. As such, it handles the City’s planning and zoning services, provides assistance to customers with land development regulation questions, reviews site development plans, helps local businesses, and recruits new ones. In carrying out its mission, it works closely with Polk County’s economic development organization, the Central Florida Development Council (CFDC). Palmer talks about some of the ongoing projects under her purview. “The big picture includes a new Amazon Distribution Center,” she begins. “I believe it’s Polk County’s fifth and Auburndale’s first. Prologis is the developer of the 1.1 million-sq.-ft. building, which will house larger household items – furniture, bicycles, kayaks – those types of things. It should be open within the next few months and will create about 500 jobs. My department has been very busy doing the inspections and plan review. The whole development of that building was ongoing for 18-24 months. So, we’re glad to be able to see that almost open.” “The other big project taking place in Auburndale, right now, is the SunTrax facility,” Palmer continues. “It’s a project of the Florida Lake Myrtle Sports Complex