One More Child plans major Lakeland expansion by 2030, doubling children served on site

LAKELAND — One More Child has received the city's approval to construct a major expansion in Lakeland, hoping to serve more children and single mothers in the community.

Lakeland commissioners voted 5-0 to approve a major modification to the nonprofit's Planned Unit Development on Monday. Commissioner Bill Read was absent and Commissioner Chad McLeod recused himself because his brother works for the organization.

"Through this new master plan in Lakeland, Florida, it's going to empower us to help even more," said Leon Battle, One More Child's vice president of strategic partnerships. "It's that one more child that's right here in Lakeland we will be able to reach out to and provide safety and a home for."

Battle said the Lakeland campus serves as the nonprofit's international headquarters. Since its founding in 1904, it has expanded to 17 countries and 23 states often testing and piloting a lot of new programs out of the Lakeland location.

A proposed three-phase construction plan will allow One More Child to move from offering residential group housing for 45 children to providing shelter for up to 58 single mothers and 118 children on campus.

"We'll be serving significantly more than double the amount," Battle said.

The federal Family First Act allowed organizations like One More Child to move from offering residential care, where staff is caring for children in homes, to focusing on prevention and licensing more foster families, Battle said. He said the nonprofit's single-moms program allows women to move onto campus, spending $60 a month while saving 30% of their income and taking classes aimed at helping them become self-sufficient.

In the first phase of construction, One More Child plans to build a roughly 21,375-square-foot meeting and events center near the center of its campus it has named Grounds for Grace. It will demolish four existing cottages, or residential dormitories on the site. New housing to be constructed will consist of eight single-family, semi-attached houses for single mothers and their children. Each of these units will have a maximum living area of 1,415 square feet. It will also add to the site's existing parking with the addition of a 109-space lot.

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The second expansion phase will focus on building resources for the site. The site plans call for a 8,250-square-foot family resource center, a 5,000-square-foot, climate-controlled storage building and a 3,750-square-foot warehouse. Battle said One More Child receives donated goods from community partners, like food from Publix, that it redistributes to families in need and to more than 400 community partners to serve their clients. There will be two single-family homes, each no more than 3,157 square feet, for families providing foster care to children on site.

With resources built, One More Child's third project phase will focus on housing. There will be 20 single-family, semi-attached housing units built for single mothers primarily in the northwest corner of the campus. There are plans to construct a two-story, multi-family facility consisting of four units to help provide housing for the organization's interns.

The goal is to have the expansion fully constructed by 2030, Battle said. No numbers on the total estimated prices were given. Battle said they are awaiting approval on a master plan. The nonprofit frequently sees private entities offer free supplies or labor. With an approved master plan and any partnerships made, it should help One More Child come up with a final price before starting a targeted capital campaign.

Sara-Megan Walsh can be reached at [email protected] or 863-802-7545. Follow on X @SaraWalshFl.

This article originally appeared on The Ledger: One More Child plans more housing on site for kids and single mothers