Business View Magazine | October 2020

331 BUSINESS VIEW MAGAZINE OCTOBER 2020 AUBURNDALE , FLOR IDA and the City of Lakeland,” Palmer explains. “It’s called the Innovation District. SunTrax is one of the anchor tenants; Florida Polytechnic is another anchor tenant. All of the land in between is what we’re hoping will fill in with technology companies and the live, work, play environments that technology companies want to locate in. All four organizations have been working together and studying the land-use plans and we put together a vision document to identify what the Innovation District could look like. That’s a planning initiative that’s still in its infancy and we’re trying to figure out the direction in which we need to head.” Another planning initiative undertaken by the City concerns what is known as the Lakes District, which comprises a number of properties on the east side of Auburndale. “We did some public participation efforts last year and came up with a vision for the Lakes District that identified locations for residential, for village centers, and for additional parks and communications. SunTrax will also have a unique tolls technology testing component, with four all-electronic toll gantries and supporting infrastructure being constructed. FTE will conduct its tolls testing on the site, both on existing hardware and software systems and future generations of tolling equipment and payment systems. Construction on the oval test track began in 2017, and was completed in May 2019. Construction of the infield began in January 2020, and is expected to conclude in late 2021. “This facility is a pretty big deal, not only for Florida, but for the southeast United States, as that technology grabs hold,” Palmer states. “And it’s a pretty exciting project for Auburndale.” The SunTrax site is surrounded by several hundred acres of developable property in an area that is actively pursuing growth from high tech industries. “The initiative that we’re working on is in partnership with the CFDC, Polk County, Lakes District Planning Map