According to recent information from Lakeland officials, The Lake District, the largest mixed used project in the history of Shelby County, seems to be back on track. The property was foreclosed on in August, however, that foreclosure has been delayed until mid-October due to a temporary deal agreed to between the lender and Mr. Yehuda Netanel. Mr. Netanel made a one million dollar wire transfer and is expected to make another large payment in the coming weeks so he can move past the foreclosure.
According to Lakeland Commissioner Matt Wright, other positive things have occurred over the past 30 days including Mr. Netanel finishing the site plans with engineering firm A2H. Mr. Netanel was in town this week to go over those site plans with local construction firms. “The engineering stage is a large investment on a project like this. To have that complete is a really positive sign” said Commissioner Matt Wright.
After the foreclosure notice, the IDB board of Lakeland and city officials asked for an addendum to the development agreement that asked for $20,000 to cover city legal expenses for the project, as well as benchmark dates to have the mall and annex building demolished. Mr. Netanel agreed to the addendum and has already paid the $20,000. He also has bids in hand to remove the buildings and is working out the details of the process. Mr. Netanel indicated to city officials the demo will be sooner, not later but the start date has not been set as of the writing of this story.
Vice-Mayor Roman says, “I’m cautiously optimistic, I think we’ve protected our interest while also doing what we can to make a private project like this a success. This fall will tell us a lot about the future of The Lake District.”
