Communication Builds Our Community
Communication Builds Our Community
Project Proposed for City's West Side Received Planning and Zoning Board Approval
Yet another large-scale development is being planned for the Lake Wales area, this time on the city's western edge, after the proposal received approvals from the city's Planning and Zoning board Tuesday.
This image, taken during a presentation to the city's Planning and Zoning board, depicts an artists conception of the main entrance boulevard into Lake Wales Commons as seen from SR 60.
Lake Wales Commons could host as many as 3,200 new dwelling units, along with more than a million square feet of light industrial and warehouse space on about 558 acres fronting along SR 60 West, Old Bartow Road, and West Lake Wales Road North.
The sprawling collection of 26 separate parcels reaches as far north as the southern edge of West Scenic Park, a small rural community off Mountain Lake Cutoff Road West. It would wrap around the historic Sick Island cemetery and surround rural homesteads, along with several wetland areas,
The project is being brought into the city through a future annexation under a designation of Master Plan Development. That category was created about five years ago by city planners to accommodate the massive parcel then owned by Winter Haven Corporation. That 2000-acre project west of US 27 north, now known as Peace Crossing, is planned to accommodate some 6200 residences along with warehouse, commercial, and Medical uses.
The site plan for Lake Wales Commons includes large areas designated for residential, warehouse, and commercial uses lying just north of SR 60 West.
The approvals from the P&Z included a Comprehensive Plan Future Land Use designation of MU (Mixed-Use), zoning of PDMU (Planned Development Mixed-Use), and the Master Development Plan designation. Autumn Cochella, acting growth manager for the city, told P&Z board members that the MDP category allows for flexibility and a more complete community design.
The project could include as many as 1,400 apartments and 1,800 single-family homes.
Adding the proposal to the current list of more than 40 different projects and proposals brings the total number of new dwelling units proposed in the city to about 20,000. Many residents have questioned the demand that would allow for that many, as well as concerns about the impact the growth would have upon the community over time.
Exhibits and draft plans shared during the meeting depict a large shopping district fronting upon the north side of the highway, including grocery and big-box retail sites along a divided boulevard. Just to their north would be a district of three and four-story buildings containing ground-floor commercial uses with residential above. Commercial uses could ultimately include up to 750,000 square feet, the equivalent space of the Eagle Ridge Mall.
Attorney Shelton Rice of Peterson Myers law firm represented the owner, Lake Wales Commons LP, a Delaware company, at the P&Z meeting. He explained that the project, which borders the southern and western sides of Lake Parker, is also contiguous with multiple projects within the boundaries of Winter Haven just to the north and west, some of which are being built by the same developers.
Attorney Sheldon Rice presented the Lake Wales Commons concept to the Planning and Zoning Board with the assistance of Diane Chadwick of Stantech during a 45-minute show.
Rice told the board that the project will create a new road grid in the area and tap into underutilized water and sewer infrastructure already constructed by the city.
Sam Petersen of Petersen Industries was one of the speakers who rose to question elements of the plan, expressing concern that it called for residential development adjacent to planned expansion of his manufacturing plant.
Residents of the rural area also expressed concerns about the loss of their lifestyle and raised questions about the potential of being forced to connect to city utilities rather than private wells and septic tanks. Cochella assured them that they cannot get utilities from the city unless they request annexation themselves.
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