UPDATE: I spoke with city Planning Director Jim Studiale late Friday, and he said he has no idea who these specific people were or what they were doing. He’s not aware of any specific condo project in that area. Studiale said, generally, the city hopes that developers will bundle some of the less attractive property in the area and redevelop it into condos or anything else that upgrades the district. But he emphasized that local government no longer has the power to seize and raze someone’s property to make that happen. Developers and owners would need to agree. That should come as some relief to property owners on that street. Anyway, it’s still curious, and I’ll continue to follow it.

I received a frantic call from a woman this morning saying that about 70 well-dressed people with cameras and computers had descended upon Bluefield Drive, a side street between Lemon Street and the In-Town bypass. It’s about two blocks east of the Lake Mirror, Barnett Park complex in central Lakeland. The picture above is of a house at the entrance of the street.

The group was strolling up and down the street, taking pictures of homes and even peering inside them without asking permission.

By the time I went to check it out, the group was gone. I can’t verify the numbers. But some residents of the quiet street were rattled. Linda Maurer, who owns a home on the street, said at least one of the people told her that condos would be coming soon to the street and that the eight to 10 homes there would be razed. And at least one person identified himself as a member of the city of Lakeland’s planning staff, she said.

The city’s project to redevelop a blighted area behind the downtown police station is well-known by this time. This sounds like it could be something similar. But this area, which is considered part of the city’s “garden district” is not nearly as blighted as the police station neighborhood.

Here’s another home pictured below:

I’ve not been able to reach city officials to discuss this. But it sounds intriguing. Hmmmmm.

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