City News Blog: City of Lakeland Accepts 379 Acre Donation of Holloway Park

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LAKELAND, FL (April 1, 2024) | The Holloway Park Foundation generously donated 379.11 acres of land to the City of Lakeland for use as a City park.  The land donation valued at $12.9M was approved by the Lakeland City Commission on Monday, April 1, 2024.

Bob Donahay, Director of Parks, Recreation & Cultural Arts said, “We have been working with the Holloway family for over a decade and conversations regarding the Holloway Park donation really started to get serious in the past 18-months.”  He added, “This the largest land donation that the City of Lakeland has ever received. We are so grateful to the Holloway Park Foundation for their generous gift to the citizens of Lakeland.  We will keep the Holloway family’s dream alive with the contracted promise that the land will be used as a community park for perpetuity.” 

The 379 acre heavily wooded park is intertwined with nature trails and an elite series of 3K, 5K, 8K and 10K grass running trails. Holloway Park currently hosts over 30 cross country track meets every year and includes NCAA sanctioned courses. Holloway Park is ranked the #2 cross country facility in the state of Florida. The park also has an 18-hole multi-terrain disc golf course that hosts over 4,000 rounds per year.  The course length is 7,825 ft with seven challenging holes over 400 ft.

Holloway Park is the legacy of Mary Ann and Ed Holloway.  In 2010, the couple decided to preserve the land in perpetuity, forming the Holloway Park Foundation, Inc.  The park is located on Lakeland Highlands Road to the west, Polk Parkway to the south, Edgewood Drive to the north and US Highway 98 South to the east.   The park will now be managed by the City of Lakeland’s Parks, Recreation & Cultural Arts Department and the campus will include the existing John McGee Park.