Communication Builds Our Community
Communication Builds Our Community
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The long construction project to turn the once-desolate Park Avenue in downtown Lake Wales into an attractive pedestrian magnet is apparently approaching a conclusion. Once completed, the entire length of Park Avenue will be open for two-way traffic for the first time in nearly two years. Traffic on Scenic Highway has been detoured around the construction site since late October. The project timeline suggested a 90-day closure, but that schedule may be surpassed if progress...
The $11 million Park Avenue reconstruction project is entering its final phase with the reconstruction of the intersection of Scenic Highway with the important downtown street. The work will require the closure of Scenic Highway at that location for approximately 90 days, according to construction plans and officials. A statement issued by the City of Lake Wales says that the closure will begin Tuesday, October 22. Once this final phase in completed, the entire length of Park...
Site work has begun on the site of Belle Lago, an 84-home subdivision on Lake Belle on the south side of Lake Wales. The project is one of several housing projects now underway across the city. The city Lake Wales City Commission approved preliminary plans for the project in July, 2021 after it received the nod from both city planners and the Planning and Zoning Board. The project is immediately south of and adjacent to a portion of the Ridge Manor subdivision, an enclave of...
Two new large residential developments moved closer to reality this month as the Lake Wales City Commission voted to advance their plans. Steeple Chase, a Planned Development Project (PDP) received a Special Exception Use Permit and a preliminary subdivision Plat. The project encompasses 250 single-family detached lots and 68 townhome units on about 98 acres of former citrus land along the north and east sides of Ridge Manor. Lying adjacent to Scenic Highway on the west, the p...
A new Park Avenue is steadily emerging in downtown Lake Wales as work continues on the first phase of a multi-million dollar reimagining of the city's heart. The ongoing work is creating a shady pedestrian oasis in the heart of the city, replete with rows of spreading live oaks, new benches, lighting, wider sidewalks, and brick-paved streets and parking areas. The stretch of Park Avenue between First and Market streets is rapidly nearing completion, offering business owners an...
A population boom is expected in Lake Wales in coming months and years as design work or construction is advancing for at least 40 projects within the city limits, in addition to others outside the city. A LakeWalesNews.net calculation shows a total of more than 15,660 new residential units have already met some level of approval by the city commission, with many having already received final plat approval for construction, even as other projects are nearing completion. If the...
Hopes for the compete removal and replacement of the aging Grove Manor public housing complex in Lake Wales took a major step toward reality with the recent awarding of federal income tax credits worth over $21 million that will fund the project. The announcement from City manager James Slaton brought joy to city commissioners and residents attending the weekly city commission meeting. Commissioners had agreed more than a year ago to contribute a million dollars from the...
An opportunity to produce fresh fruits and vegetables in the heart of a "food desert" has motivated a team of volunteers to plan the city's second community garden on a plot of land next to the James P. Austin Center. Funded primarily through a grant arranged by Congressman Darren Soto, the garden will be managed by a non-profit corporation, Lake Wales Grove Garden LLC, guided by a local board of directors. The need for the garden was established through a walking survey of...
Two Lake Wales men were killed Sunday evening in a pair of shootings, and investigators are seeking reasons. According to reports, the first victim was found in an apartment in the Grove Manor public housing complex around 8:00 pm Sunday suffering from a gunshot wound. Marquese Johnson, 23, was found by witnesses and transported to a local hospital where he died. Witnesses reported that they had seen a man identified as Kendrick Akins leaving the apartment as they arrived,...
City staff in the Lake Wales Public Works department are working on three projects that include replacing antiquated water lines, increasing water flow, and adding select neighborhoods to the city’s central sewer system, eliminating septic systems in those areas. The enhancements are part of the Public Works Department’s master plans for water, stormwater and wastewater. The multi-year plans are designed to target expansion, stormwater quality and increase water reusability. ...
Two large residential developments proposed by the same developer recently met with very different responses from the Lake Wales city commission. After unanimously approving a 930-lot single-family subdivision known as the Grove at Orchard Hills, the commission's 3-2 vote rejected a neighboring 300-unit project brought by the same developer. David Waronker of Celebration has been the developer of record for several large subdivision projects in Lake Wales, including the expans...
In a long-delayed ruling, the State Attorney's office has announced that their investigation into a exchange of gunfire between police and a suspect last August determined that police use of deadly force was justified. Earnest Borders, 57, of Lake Wales, was killed. A police department K-9, Max, also died in the gunfire. A letter signed by Assistant State Attorney Mark Thomas Levine states that "it is my opinion that Officer Jared Joyner and Officer Esaul Hernandez were justif...
A 300-unit subdivision that would wrap around the northern and eastern sides of Ridge Manor has been delayed after the withdrawal of an application for a permit from the city. The project, dubbed Steeple Chase, would occupy almost 98 acres on three parcels stretching east from Scenic Highway to beyond 9th Street. Developers had requested a Preliminary Subdivision Plat and a Special Exception Use Permit. After their application was subject to a 35-minute discussion at a...
An $18.5 million bond issuance received final approval from the Lake Wales City Commission on Tuesday, completing the funding of the award-winning Lake Wales Connected project. The approval in back-to-back meetings of the Community Redevelopment Agency and the City Commission was the final step necessary for the city's bond counsel firm of Ford and Associates. It is expected that the bonds will be offered on the market almost immediately. Ford and Associates has guaranteed...
A long-desired re-do of the aging Grove Manor housing complex north of downtown may be closer to reality if the recent actions of the city commission bear fruit. Commissioners, on a 4-0 vote, approved allotting all of the original funding, once spread over several phases of a reconstruction project, to be assigned to phase two of the 300-unit project. Commissioner Daniel Williams was absent. Housing Authority Executive Director Albert Kirkland Jr. and construction management...
An apparent attempt to draw customers led to the wrong kind of attention for an area man as he found himself following complaints about his loud music. According to Lake Wales Police, officers responded to the area of Seminole Ave. and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. around 10:20 pm Wednesday after a resident called complaining about loud music in the Grove Manor housing complex. Arriving officers observed a minivan occupied by a man playing loud music. As they approached...
A convicted felon and a Lake Wales Police Department canine were killed in a shooting in Lake Wales Wednesday morning. Ernest Borders, 57, was killed in the exchange of gunfire after opening fire after ordered to show his hands by two Lake Wales officers. Police K-9 Max was killed, but both officers escaped without injury. Lake Wales Police Chief Chris Velasquez said that the K-9 died so that the officers could survive. According to a statement issued by the Lake Wales Police...
Efforts to re-imagine the urban core of Lake Wales as an attractive and shady pedestrian oasis filled with new businesses and restaurants continues to draw the support of both the public and private sectors. Congressman Darren Soto has announced that he is requesting a $1 million Federal grant to support street restoration in downtown Lake Wales. This project, one element of a multi-faceted effort, would revitalize 1st Street, which is a critical connector, unifying the...
The parade of development proposals that have stirred citizen concerns of runaway changes to Lake Wales continued to be evident at the most recent city commission meeting as details emerged for several more projects. A calculation by LakeWalesNews.Net staff has indicated that more than 12,000 new single-family homes, townhomes, apartments, and mobile homes are included in developments already on the drawing table. At least three other projects have been proposed but remain to...
After expressing concerns about the lack of success achieved by the Lake Wales Housing Authority, the Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA) changed their tune after a joint meeting with the Smith & Henzy Advisory Group, the consultants for the Housing Authority. A December discussion had led to the CRA had issuing a letter to the Authority on December 16 threatening to withhold the million dollars they had pledged toward the project, recognized as an important part of the Lake...
Congressman Darren Soto, Mayor Eugene Fultz, Deputy Mayor Robin Gibson and other elected officials were among speakers presenting Monday as Lake Wales marks the national holiday of Martin Luther King Jr. Day. A rich program was offered by the Dr, Joseph A Wiltshire Scholarship Foundation to mark the day. The program began with the 10th annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr Legacy Breakfast. and included a showing of the landmark film "Selma" during the afternoon. The film is based...
In hopes of "accelerating" the implementation of an ambitious plan for sidewalk construction and tree canopy creation in the long-neglected Northwest Neighborhood the City of Lake Wales applied November 1 for Community Development Block Grant funds. In an apparent sign of confidence, Commissioners will contemplate the hiring of the engineering firm of Chastain-Skillman, Inc. to create the construction documents. The cost of the project is estimated to total $1,193,660, with...
Plans and proposals for new housing developments in Lake Wales have come in waves during 2021 and show no sign of abating. More than 8,300 new dwellings are now "visible" on the planning documents at the City of Lake Wales Development Services. Those residences are likely to house more than 23,000 new citizens, an expected population increase of some 140%. "Everybody wants to come where we are," said City Commissioner Robin Gibson, when asked about the growth spurt. "It's a...
A bond issuance exceeding $18 million dollars is contemplated under an agreement being considered by the Lake Wales Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA) at their next meeting Wednesday evening. Funds from the bond sale would be utilized for a variety of community redevelopment projects within the boundaries of the CRA, including the Lake Wales Connected plan. Under the award-winning Connected concept, the CRA plans to revamp several blocks of Park Avenue between Scenic...
The Lake Wales Community Redevelopment Agency has given its tentative approval to contribute $1 million towards the proposed redevelopment of the Grove Manor housing complex. Officials from both the city and the Lake Wales Housing Authority have been meeting for a number of months now, largely to ensure the project fits in with the award-winning "Lake Wales Connected" redevelopment plan that includes both the historic downtown business district and northwest neighborhood. Thos...
