In this, its 50th year in business, Florida Tile's Lakeland manufacturing plant will close. ... borrows his brother's savings and buys a run-down tile plant in Lakeland for $8,000.

LAKELAND -- Florida Tile Industries Inc. announced Monday it will close its Lakeland manufacturing plant, just days after it was purchased by a Washington, D.C.-based merchant bank. The decision ...

LAKELAND -- The future of the former Florida Tile Industries Inc. plant west of downtown Lakeland could include a new hotel, high-end condominiums, shops, restaurants and premium office space if ...