Communication Builds Our Community
Communication Builds Our Community
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A new business incubator funded in large part by the City of Lake Wales was celebrated at a recent ribbon cutting featuring a host of government and business representatives. The 3,570 square-foot incubator was developed from a former dental office by Florida Development Corporation, which will be moving its headquarters to the new facility from Tampa, according to city sources. Some 75 guests joined officers of the corporation for the celebration. The $1.2 million...
Bricks may become the new buzzword for downtown Lake Wales. The rapid changes coming to Park Avenue under the Lake Wales Connected project include a street completely resurfaced with traditional brick pavers to emphasize the historic significance of the downtown area. Now those bricks are being joined by the newly-exposed original brick facades of historic buildings that have been hidden behind stucco for years. The work is being undertaken by individual property owners,...
The re-growth of a business district in the heart of the Northwest Neighborhood is the goal of a $1.2 million investment of American Rescue funds by the City of Lake Wales to spur creation of a business incubator. A ribbon cutting ceremony is now scheduled for noon on August 1 to mark the grand opening of BizLINC, located in a former dental office at 225 Lincoln Avenue. The grant of the federal funds last July has allowed Florida Development Corporation, a Tampa-based...
Change is coming to Lake Wales. Are you worried? If so, your concerns are shared by thousands of your friends and neighbors. Ours is a growing community. This special place has been "discovered" by ever-larger numbers of people who would like to share in the unique qualities the city offers. As the agricultural basis of our economy is changing, so is the land use. Unproductive citrus groves decimated by disease are being offered for sale. Savvy developers are snapping up...
A vision of Lake Wales as a city that embraces new neighborhoods built to traditional standards while preserving vast swaths of open space was presented to an eager audience Tuesday evening by city planners who painted a clear picture of that potential. City planners Victor Dover and Eric Pate of Dover, Kohl & Partners shared the status of the several reports included in the broad Lake Wales Envisioned plan. The process was initiated by the City of Lake Wales late last year...
A face and voice familiar to most Polk County residents will soon be sharing lots of information about Lake Wales as Ken Suarez begins his duties. No stranger to the camera, the long-time Tampa Bay-area broadcaster recently left his full-time job as a television journalist to begin serving the City of Lake Wales as part-time host of a video series about events in the area. Suarez worked for years at WINK TV in Fort Myers before moving into the Tampa market almost 35 years...
Continuous access to downtown businesses will be maintained during construction of the transformative Lake Wales Connected designs, representatives of Gomez Construction assured gathered merchants at a Tuesday morning meeting. Project manager Mahmoud Heda said that, despite unavoidable traffic detours, "sidewalks will never be shut down during business hours." The 8:30 am gathering at The Marketplace Café allowed Heda and Main Street Manager Ronni Wood to explain the complex...
Crews from Gomez Construction have made substantial progress on a block of West Park Avenue between First Street and Wetmore Street. The reconstruction is part of the $11.5 million transformation of that street and, eventually, the adjoining eastern blocks and the adjacent MarketPlace. The Lake Wales Post office and adjacent businesses are being served from a parking lot accessible from Orange Avenue, one block to the north. Signage has been placed to direct traffic to the...
A new bicycle and pedestrian trail will continue the expansion of a growing network connecting neighborhoods across Lake Wales following city commission approval of an interlocal agreement with Polk County on Wednesday. Creation of a functional network of trails is a repeated recommendation contained in the Lake Wales Connected plan, cited as a significant contributor to the health and well-being of residents. The Ridge Scenic Highway Trail segment will extend 3,975 feet and...
Lawyers for the city of Lake Wales are asking a circuit judge to rule that Ray Brown lied to city commissioners about his financing and progress in redeveloping the historic Walesbilt Hotel and that those fraudulent representations led commissioners to deed the hotel to him in 2011. If Circuit Judge William Sites rules for the city, it would pave the way for returning the partially renovated hotel, dating to 1926, back to the city. The city is suing Brown's company, Dixie Wale...
Fourteen new Southern Live Oaks and ten Florida Holly trees were planted last week as the latest landscaping contribution toward recreating the "City in a Garden" ideal of Lake Wales founders. Lake Wales Heritage, an Olmsted Conservancy, undertook the plantings as part of their city-wide efforts. The trees in the Druid Hills neighborhood are the latest step by the Heritage organization toward completing the landscape design of Frederick Law Olmsted Jr., who planned both the...
Access to the busy Lake Wales Care Center Thrift Store will be restricted until after the Independence Day holiday as crews from the Williams Company reconstruct curbing and resurface the parking lot at the store. The lot is connected to the Park Avenue reconstruction being performed by the contractor as part of the Lake Wales Connected project. Closure of one access point to that street and the redesign of sidewalks and curbs caused significant impact, which led to the...
A new market analysis by a prestigious firm has identified a large measure of demand for Traditional Neighborhood Development (TND) residences in Lake Wales and Polk County. The study indicates that there is a potential market for new housing units within new traditional neighborhoods in Lake Wales which would amount to more than ten percent of all new housing demand in Polk County. Some developers have expressed doubt that they could sell "traditional" neighborhoods here. The...
A vision for the long-term future of the Lake Wales region that shifts away from the contemporary development style toward "traditional neighborhoods" was the subject of discussion at the Lake Wales Breakfast Rotary Thursday morning. "Most towns are already 100 years old when they decide what they want to be when they grow up," city planner Victor Dover told more than two dozens in attendance, explaining that Lake Wales has a huge head start due to the efforts of the city's...
A downtown business improvement effort "focused on asset development and retail recruitment" was outlined to a large group of downtown property owners at a Wednesday luncheon. Elliott Cook of Retail Strategies told those in attendance that his purpose was to gather information from them that would be used in their efforts. Cook promised that his firm would provide owners with the tools for success. Retail Strategies was hired by city government to help recruit new business...
The sale of five lots owned by the Lake Wales Community Redevelopment Agency will spur the development of new affordable housing for workers and retirees. An agreement for the sale of the five properties for a total of $34,157.00 to Florida Development Corp, Inc. (FDC) will allow the company to develop five two-bedroom rental units on the lots, located on Sessoms Avenue, D and E Streets. Although a staff report lists the units as having a single bathroom each, an attached floo...
May 12 - Long-time Lake Wales Main Street executive director Karen Thompson has announced her resignation. "I am excited about downtown Lake Wales' future and proud to have played a small role," Thompson said. "We are fortunate that both the Main Street board and the City are committed to realizing downtown's full potential and holding quality as the number one priority." The Main Street program is funded in part by the Lake Wales Community Redevelopment Agency. Thompson, who...
A special presentation of the draft work completed by a team of architects, ecologists, urban and traffic planners over the course of the charrette week will be shared with the public at a special gathering at the Lake Wales Arts Center Thursday evening. The event will begin at 6:00 pm at 1099 East SR 60 (Hesperides Road) in Lake Wales. The planning effort is part of the city-funded Lake Wales Envisioned effort, designed to gather public input to determine the shape of...
Doubts about the future of Lake Wales will be met with inspiration Friday night as a special opening reception for "Charette Week" will take place downtown from 6:00 to 8:00 pm. The public is invited. The casual "come-and-go event" will be hosted by the planning team of Dover, Kohl & Partners, who will share information about the busy week of hands-on planning that will shape the city's future through a project called "Lake Wales Envisioned." A charette is a small cart once...
Incumbent Deputy Mayor Robin Gibson easily turned back a challenge from Danielle Pride Gibson for his District 5 seat on the Lake Wales City Commission Tuesday. Michelle Threatt was defeated by Keith Thompson in a relatively close contest for the District 3 seat, which is being vacated by long-time Commissioner Terrye Howell. Thompson garnered 904 votes, or 53.27% of the tally, while Michelle Threatt collected 793, or 47.73% of the 1,698 ballots cast in the District 3 race....
A packed house greeted a team of planners, traffic engineers and developers Monday afternoon to hear presentations that may help shape the future of Lake Wales. Experts shared the keys to creating a superior community to begin the process of Lake Wales Envisioned. The months-long effort to deal with an anticipated wave of growth was initiated by the City of Lake Wales with the support of a host of co-sponsors. Interested citizens filled the theatre at Bok Tower Gardens for...
Noted Economist Joe Minicozzi will introduce a variety of economic opportunities that are becoming available to residents, property and business owners, and city governments as a result of an approaching wave of growth in the area. Minicozzi, a partner of the Urban3 planning firm, will share the "Dollars and Sense" of good planning as a part of the ongoing Lake Wales Envisioned planning effort. Minicozzi is well-known for his economic insights into the drivers of property...
An upbeat assessment of activities during the past year and a positive look toward the future was offered by Lake Wales Mayor Jack Hilligoss at the annual "State of the City" luncheon sponsored by the Lake Wales Area Chamber of Commerce Friday. The event drew some seventy area residents to the Performing Arts Center at The Vanguard School. In a speach running about 25 minutes Hilligoss cited the implementation of a "180" utility city area, which "establishes the footprint" of...
A once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to shape the future livability of Lake Wales begins Monday at Bok Tower Gardens as a high-powered team of planners bring their national reputations. talents, and insights to bear on the city. The project, designated "Lake Wales Envisioned," will consider the future of a large area around the city and include topics ranging from parks, recreation, and conservation to future sites for commercial, residential, and industrial uses. Transportation...
Four city commission candidates facing an April 4 election shared a stage at the Lake Wales Womans Club Auditorium Tuesday evening to compare their positions on a variety of topics raised by audience questions. Few major differences were apparent on subjects ranging from public transportation to electric car chargers. The candidates responded to five questions submitted in advance by the two organizations, followed by others submitted by the audience. Surprisingly, none of the...
