That's Amore

There's an irony about My Office and More, a new business in the center of downtown Lakeland designed to give emerging businesses big-office amenities without big-office costs.

That's because the costs have been anything but small for Kate Lake, the 57-year-old entrepreneur who spent more than a year conceiving of a co-working space and finding the right place for it. When she finally found the right place — a 105-year-old building across from the landmark Munn Park — it had a hefty price tag: $1 million.

Lake declines to say how much more she spent renovating, painting and upgrading air conditioning for the building after she bought it, but she did say: “It's a God project. On paper, we shouldn't be able to pull it off.”