Communication Builds Our Community
Communication Builds Our Community
New Paving and Landscapes Funded by
This street-level view of Crystal Avenue looking east from First Street shows the human-scale effect of the plantings that will make the street more attractive for pedestrians and shoppers, as well as potential investors.
Orange Avenue will see a significant change with new street trees, rain gardens, streetlights, benches, and other improvements as part of the make-over.
A view of Crystal Avenue looking west from near the intersection of Market Street.
An aerial view of Crystal Avenue looking west shows an overview of the new streetscape
This view of Crystal Avenue looking to the southeast shows a portion of the completed intersection at First Street.
A street-level view of the redesigned Orange Avenue looking west toward First Street.
Orange Avenue looking east from above First Street. The buildings in the right foreground are subject to ongoing redevelopment plans and will host new restaurants.
This view shows Orange Avenue looking west from the intersection of Market Street.
A million-dollar reconstruction of block-long stretches of Orange and Crystal Avenues is anticipated thanks to a federal grant and an intergovernmental agreement.
The dramatic change will see new streetlights, street furniture, curbing, and the installation of numerous trees and other plants installed in rain gardens that will help absorb stormwater, .
The work will include the resurfacing of the two streets east of First Street through and including their intersections with Market Street. The project will also be "ADA compliant," providing ramps for wheelchairs and strollers.
Funding for the project will come from an $800,000 grant arranged by US Congressman Darren Soto, who formerly represented the area. His district lines no longer include Lake Wales. Soto previously arranged the infusion of funding for downtown street rehabilitation in the Bipartisan Infrastructure and Jobs Act approved by the US Congress and signed into law by President Joe Biden in 2021. Those funds will aid in fulfilling the Lake Wales Connected plan.
The 20 percent local match will come from the Lake Wales Community Redevelopment Agency, which issued an $18.5 million bond to fund the Connected plan. That debt will be paid by the "incremental" increase in tax receipts created by the rise in property values by property owners benefitting from the improvements.
The effort is an extension of the Lake Wales Connected plan, which is intended to change the city's historic center into a leafy pedestrian oasis. Aging core-area streets are being reconstructed with wider sidewalks and other attractive features. A new downtown mixed-use zoning district provides for the creation of attractive residential uses in the area, and it is hoped that the streetscapes will enhance the attraction of the neighborhood to help attract investment.
The project is moving ahead thanks to a new interlocal agreement between Lake Wales and Polk County, which will serve as the "local agency program" administrator for the grant. The two governmental bodies approved the arrangement that will allow the city to accept and implement the federal grant.
The Lake Wales Connected plan was adopted by the city more than two years ago and includes 63 action items. Some, such as the Park Avenue Trail and the recently-opened BizLINC business incubator, have been completed, while others, including affordable housing initiatives and the reconstruction of Park Avenue, to include a new brick street surface, are well underway.
At a recent commission workshop Deputy Mayor Robin Gibson sought assurance from city staff that the design will complement that being used on Park Avenue. He was told that the design for Orange and Crystal Avenues has already been completed by Chastain Skillman, the same engineering firm that designed Park Avenue.
The project will eventually include a major reconstruction of First Street north of Central Avenue, and improvements to Central Avenue East of that intersection, as well changes to Scenic Highway, including the construction of a roundabout at Crystal Avenue near the Lake Wales Public Library.
Reader Comments(0)