The Greater Winter Haven Chamber of Commerce will conduct a “LEGOLAND® Florida Host City Forum” for our members on Tuesday, July 20 from 3 to 5 p.m. in the Chamber’s Coleman Auditorium. We have seating for 60. City, County and Polk Tourism representatives will  participate.

Topics for discussion will include:

- How can Winter Haven become the best LEGOLAND® host city in the world.

- How do we best prepare to serve families with children 2 to 12 years old.

- How do we preserve and enhance our entryways and prevent “visual chaos.”

- How do we enhance our ability to make the Chain of Lakes a part of the visitor experience.

- How we can be an effective marketing partner of the Central Florida visiting experience.

Participation is limited to two persons per member organization to ensure the diversity of the forum input. Our tourism-related (hotels, restaurants, attractions) industries are encouraged to participate.

RSVP is required to attend.

If you have questions or issues you feel should be discussed, please email them to chamber1@winterhavenfl.com.

The new company’s first publication will be Polk Ag News and will launch in the summer of 2010. Agriculture has a significant impact on local communities and our overall economy. The Central Florida Economic Development Council’s Study of Regional Impact identified agriculture and agri-technology as one of the key sectors in our region with the most long term advantages to the economic well-being and future of the county. A variety of industries are tied to local agriculture, including agri-education, flavors and essence manufacturing, fruit packing, phosphate mining and processing facilities.

According to Kirkland, “Polk Ag News and www.polkagnews.com will provide up-to-date news, information and community connections that farmers, ranchers and Polk residents care about including political news from Bartow, Tallahassee and beyond. “We’ll also focus on the youth in local FFA and 4H programs.”

Central Florida Media Group (CFMG) plans to publish Polk Ag News monthly in print and to develop a robust internet site featuring photos and video. Readers can expect contributions from The Polk County Farm Bureau, Florida Citrus Mutual, Florida Citrus Commission, Florida Cattlemen’s Association and other organizations and agencies focused on agriculture.

Company Gets Nod from USF Poly Accelerator

CFMG announced its selection by USF Polytechnic’s business accelerator, Blue Sky East, which uses technology and research to support companies building new products and services.

Blue Sky is Polk’s first university-based incubator/accelerator program and is engaged in a competitive application process to select the right mix of companies for its inaugural year. The incubator provides mentoring, network opportunities, access to academic and business expertise as well as technology support for selected companies.

Kirkland added, “We’re thrilled to be working with Blue Sky. A lot goes into developing new products and services and the atmosphere of collaboration at a business accelerator makes the process easier and more successful.”

“We’re going to be aggressive in distribution,” said Kirkland. “We’ll reach more than 5,000 greenbelt property owners located in Polk County and have more than 550 other distribution locations. We expect to circulate in excess of 25,000 copies each month in addition to our web presence.”

For additional information on Central Florida Media Group and Polk Ag News, contact Kirkland or visit www.centralfloridamediagroup.com.

In February Kirkland left the New York Times Company after a 24-year career most recently serving as publisher of  the News Chief newspaper in Winter Haven.

“Community publishing is what I love to do,” said Kirkland. “I’m excited to put my experience to work for niche audiences and companies in Central Florida.”

Expect a park designed to entertain children two to twelve years old and involve their parents and grandparents, aunts and uncles in that experience.

Expect lush landscaping with photographic sight lines in the best traditions of Dick and Julie Pope.

Expect a gourmet dining experience – no exaggeration here. Traditional burgers and hot dogs are available but add to that such items as gourmet wood fired pizzas, Asian chicken stir fry, spicy shrimp linguini, Carne Asada steak nachos, Cajun salmon, spinach and pear salad and much, much more. You’ll also find child “right-sized” buffet lines.

Expect to become addicted to Granny’s Apple Fries (a Legoland original!) Warm Granny Smith apple fries are dusted with cinnamon and sugar and served with a vanilla cream dipping sauce. (Pictured left)

Expect bright primary colors and millions upon millions of Lego bricks used in sculptures and creations.

Expect a Miniland USA so complete and complex with examples such as the Statue of Liberty, Mount Rushmore, The U. S. Capitol, Washington Monument and New York skyline. Our Miniland will have its own unique mix of Lego brick creations, but these were part of just the Miniland USA area of the park, and it alone could take more than a day to explore and appreciate its intricate detail. (Below)

Expect rides that have parents and children participating together. Rides that move on their own – but move faster if you peddle. Rides that involve pulleys that the occupant pulls for elevations. Rides such as the Junior Driving School where kids can get their Legoland Driving License. Expect queue lines for rides that surround a Lego brick play area for kids to keep them occupied while Mom and Dad weave around them.

Expect a dedicated management team laser-focused on their target audience … those two- to twelve-year-old guests that will allow us to particpate with them. You’ll find friendly, engaged employees and a spotless park as well.

Expect a good corporate citizen that works closely with the community and gives back. Legoland is particularly supportive of education.

Expect to say (as we did) “Wow, how perfect that they chose Winter Haven for their Florida Park!”

The City of Winter Haven and the Winter Haven Chamber of Commerce wish to thank The Carlsbad Chamber of Commerce, City of Carlsbad and Legoland California for their extraordinary hospitality. Special thanks to Peter Ronchetti, General Manager and Brian Shaw, Director of Finance for their personal tour of the Legoland California facility.

You can read for yourself here beginning on Page 24.

It provides a much more comprehensive look than Florida Trend’s April Economic Yearbook.

Artist concept looking SE from interection of Ave. A and Third St. NW

Winter Haven City Commissioners met today (Friday, March 12) in a Quarterly Planning Workshop designed to discuss potential new projects and review the status of previous priorities.

One primary area of interest involved a proposed downtown parking garage that would be situated on the block where the Ritz Theatre is located. The garage would essentially wrap around the theatre. Conceptual plans call for first floor retail space for urban connectivity and several floors of parking spaces including a top deck. Total number of spaces would number slightly more that 5oo.

Commissioner Jamie Beckett pointed to the new “Business Continuity Center” located in the 610 Plaza building (formerly Verizon) that can accommodate overnight up to 250 workers from a business that has suffered an interruption due to catastrophic circumstances anywhere.  Beckett said his number one question from downtown businesses dealt with parking and he added, “Where will we park those 250 extra workers.” (Also, a developing downtown technology sector now employs approximately 230 people and is projected to employ 500 by 2012.)

City Manager Dale Smith noted that parking garages are never inexpensive but the current economic climate should produce a cost effective climate for building.

The commissioners instructed staff to develop definite plans and recommendations on how to proceed.

The planning workshop lasted three-hours and dealt with a variety of topics. The Commission is also interested in evaluating the need for updating the Community’s visioning document, “Our Future By Design.”

Due to the strong interest from contractors, a separate email has been set up for those wishing to introduce their company and offer their services to Merlin Entertainments. All those inquiries should be addressed to LLFContractors@LEGOLAND.com.

LEGOLAND Florida opens at the end of 2011 and will be the biggest LEGOLAND Park to ever open offering a unique mix of more than 50 rides, shows and attractions, including spectacular LEGO® models. The Florida development will be Merlin Entertainment’s second LEGOLAND Park in North America and will play an important role in the group’s continued growth in the U.S. Providing a full-day, year round, theme park experience geared towards families with children between the ages of two and 12, LEGOLAND Florida will mirror the successful concept of the four existing LEGOLAND Parks in Denmark, Germany, UK and California. However, as with the other four, it will also have its own unique “twist” reflecting its stunning location and adding a Florida flavor.

As Polk County’s chambers of commerce, governmental units and planning organizations focused increasing attention on the regional implications of the recently announced Tampa-Polk-Orlando High Speed Rail plan, a major landowner on Florida’s High Tech Corridor announced major plans for one of the leading sites proposed for Polk County’s HSR station.

The site, at the eastern intersection of I-4 and the Polk Parkway, is adjacent to the new USF Polytechnic campus and minutes from the Polk Commerce Centre and the county’s new Lake Myrtle Sports Complex, is located within the Williams Development of Regional Impact (DRI). More importantly, according to USF Polytechnic CEO Marshall Goodman, “This site is central to all of Polk County. It’s the most accessible location being considered.”

Through it’s local spokesman, Charles Gray, of Gray Robinson PA, Attorneys, the Williams Acquisition Holding Company, Inc., owner of the DRI, plans to develop the site as the USF Poly campus opens its doors for 5,000 students in 2012 on a Calatrava-designed campus expected to ultimately host 16,000 students. The DRI project is planned to include 4,300 residential units, 1.3 million square feet of commercial space, a research/development park with 2.9 million square feet of space, 350 hotel rooms and a village center, similar to the successful Lakeside Village development on Lakeland’s southwest side, 240,000 square feet of retail space, 200,000 square feet of office space, 400 residential units and a 100-room hotel.

The Williams group is currently in negotiations with P3 DevCo for development of the property surrounding the proposed future High Speed Rail station site. Williams also previously negotiated with several national community developers for the development of the entire Williams DRI. Negotiations, however, were postponed pending completion of the construction of the Polk Parkway interchange, the East/West road and Phase I of the USF Polytechnic campus.

Williams sees 2012 as a pivotal year for the site and the region, Gray said. That year will see the completion of the Florida Turnpike Enterprise’s massive Pace Road interchange project on the Polk Parkway and completion of the 5.8 mile 4-lane highway (the East/West road) connecting the Pace Road interchange on the east and State Road 33 on the west. The County has completed construction of the 4-lane Pace Road from Berkley Road to the interchange.

This regional roadway will serve the University, Polk County and the county’s 17 municipalities. With the location of the High Speed Rail station at a site in the center of Polk County’s segment of I-4, the new transportation mode will be positioned to serve the USF Poly campus, the Williams DRI, the Polk Commerce Centre DRI, the Lake Myrtle Complex, Fantasy of Flight, and Merlin Entertainment’s recently announced LegoLand theme park in Winter Haven, as well as the major population hubs in Lakeland.

The terms of any joint venture or potential sale of any portion of the Williams property for development will not be completed until the High Speed Rail station location is determined. According to Gray, if the station is located on the Williams property, Williams is prepared to make available a 20-acre site for the station.

You can view a Williams Co./USF Polytechnic Site Map Here

It’s official. Representatives from Merlin Entertainments confirmed this morning that their company will construct their second U.S. Legoland Park on the historic Cypress Gardens property. (The park will be the largest Legoland so far.)

In a page torn directly from the promotions book of Dick Pope, founder of Cypress Gardens, Merlin Entertainments officials presented a news conference that involved a Florida panther, large orange and Polk County logo constructed completely of Lego blocks. If that wasn’t enough, the grand finale featured 100,000 Lego blocks cascading from a front end loader to the screams of delight from young guests from the Florida Baptist Children’s Home.

Facts at a glance:

Projected re-opening: Late 2011

Employment: Estimated 1000 jobs

Highlights: Rides, displays, interactive lego building for the whole family. And Merlin CEO Nick Varney (left) assured everyone present the the Cypress Gardens botanical gardens are in very safe hands with his company. They are part of what makes this location so special.”

Varney told of his first visit to Cypress Gardens in October of 2008 when he “absolutely fell in love with the park.”

The park will see 40 million lego blocks used in its construction.

Varney declined to specify the exact amount of the company’s initial investment rumored to exceed $150 million.

On hand for the festivities, Florida Governor Charlie Crist accepts a Lego replica of a Florida Panther from Merlin CEO Nick Varney

State Senator J. D. Alexander, Nick Varney and Winter Haven Mayor Jeff Potter

More than 400 billion Lego blocks have been manufactured in the company’s history. Varney described Florida as the world’s number 1 tourism destination and noted his park will fare well as it is positioned 180 degrees apart from a traditional theme park. He noted, “Most parks put you on something (like a ride) and do something to you. We set ourselves apart by inviting the guest to join in interactive activities such as race car building where parents compete against their children.” He admits the 23 month build out is ambitious but he feels very manageable. Mr. Varney also noted that of all the locations worldwide that his company has worked with government officials, their Florida and Polk County experience has been among the best. He also thanked the local businesses who have posted “Welcome Legoland Florida” on their reader boards.

Welcome to Winter Haven Mr. Varney and Merlin Entertainments. Mr. Pope wouldn’t have it any other way.

Post Update 1-22-10: In interviews after the news conference Nick Varney confirmed plans to reinstate the famed Cypress Gardens ski show “with a Lego twist.” He also noted that long range plans call for the property to become a Legoland Resort and including at least one hotel.

Note to Contractors: If your company is interested in being considered during the construction of Legoland Florida, the contact name is Ian Sarjeant, senior project manager. He can be reached at ian.sarjeant@legoland.com or 760-931-9159. He is compiling a list of prospective contractors, working on how the company is going to handle bids, etc. in preparation for work to begin.

The confirmation is being attributed by area media to an email sent to Polk County Commissioners. The memo mentions several key points:

1. LEGOLAND Florida will be the fifth LEGOLAND attraction worldwide (California, Denmark , England , and Germany ).

2. Merlin is the second largest attraction company in the world, second only to Disney.

3. Merlin’s massive research in the area already indicated that the LEGOLAND brand already has high recognition and a 90% intention to visit by families in their target market.

4. LEGOLAND, CA, is the fastest growing theme park in the U.S., realizing an astounding 6% growth in 2009. The park was also recognized by Amusement Today as the country’s best theme park for children for the sixth consecutive year.

While there will be significant employment at the park during its reconstruction and transformation, the long term vision will see significant employment on an annual basis. This will return Polk and Winter Haven to solid tourism destination status complementing our other tourism venues such as Bok Tower Gardens and Fantasy of Flight.

We enthusiastically welcome Merlin Entertainments and salute the hard work of everyone involved locally in helping to make all the pieces fall into place (pun very much intended)!

We will present further information following tomorrow’s news conference.

Merlin Entertainments is a young and dynamic organization, it currently operates 50-plus attractions and four hotels anually, which welcomes more than 30 million visitors in 12 differrent countries across three continents – Europe, North America and Asia – and employ more than 13,000 staff.

From its headquarters in Poole, Dorset, the Merlin Entertainments Group today operates an international network of attractions, among them many of the world’s best known brand names…Madame Tussauds, The Dungeons, Alton Towers, LEGOLAND, SEA LIFE, Gardaland, the London Eye and others.

The Screamscape Blog actually uncovered land transfer documents that led to the discovery of Merlin Entertainments’ purchase of Cypress Gardens. We have added information collected from Google Alerts.

The primary driver of this tech hub is two large telecommunications buildings formerly owned by Verizon/GTE and now owned and being developed by the Six Ten Corporation. The two buildings are hardened and carrier grade and have become the anchors for what is now known as the Inland Fiber and Data Park — a four-block area offering safe data storage and emergency back up facilities to both government and corporate clients from throughout Florida and both national and international interests.

There is currently 300,000 square feet of space serving 26 companies with approximately 230 employees. Six Ten is proposing to add another 50,000 square feet of new space by 2012 effectively doubling the number of companies to 50 and employment to 500. These high technology jobs are projected to average wages of $43,000 – $69,000.

Currently there are eight fiber optic providers located downtown. They include: Level 3, Verizon, Nuvox, Time Warner Telecom, FPL Fibernet, BrightHouse and Sprint. That number is expected to grow to twelve by 2012.

Tenants include medical, business service and support, software developers, data centers anddisaster recovery, technology, educational institutions and State and Federal Government. Another key partner in the development of this technology park is Elephant Outlook Information Services providing secure email management and compliance.

Key to this emerging sector is the synergy derived from public/private partnerships. Six Ten Corporation and Elephant Outlook are partnering with the resources of the City of Winter Haven, Central Florida Development Council, East Polk Committee of 100 and USF Polytechnic to maximize the position of Polk County and Winter Haven in this highly desirable area of economic development.

High wage and high potential in the heart of downtown. The future looks bright.