New Dunkin Shop Planned at Southgate Shopping Center Outparcel

Robert Connors

A new Dunkin coffee shop may soon rise on this outparcel carved from the parking lot of Southgate Shopping Center on SR 60. The project requires the removal of a mature oak tree.

A new 24-hour Dunkin outlet is planned for a small outparcel facing SR 60 East at Southgate Shopping Center in Lake Wales. Dunkin has two existing outlets in the city, which are expected to remain.

Approval of the site plan will be considered by the city's Planning and Zoning Board at 5:30 p.m. on Tuesday, May 28.

Designs for the proposed free-standing building include the 24-hour one-lane drive-through service window as well as an indoor lobby open during more limited hours. The building would be situated just west of the existing Pizza Hut-Wing Street restaurant and east of the main entrance to the shopping center.

According to a report prepared by the city's Senior Planner Jamine Khammany for presentation to the planning board, the plan requires "Waivers of Strict Compliance" with landscaping requirements and off-street parking and vehicular access.

Courtesy City of Lake Wales

The site plan for a proposed Dunkin outlet, the city's third, shows a single-lane drive-through adjacent to the existing Pizza hut-Wing Street restaurant.

The report explains that the changes will allow a reduction in impervious surface due to the landscaping which will surround the building, sited on what is now paved parking area. An assessment by planning staff indicated that the existing parking lot is more than adequate to serve the new restaurant and current demand at the shopping center, home to a Publix grocery, Bealls clothing store, and several other retail outlets.

If approved by the P&Z board, the project would then be considered by the city commission at a future meeting.