Communication Builds Our Community
Communication Builds Our Community
The ongoing work on East Park Avenue caught an enthusiastic response from the touring group, many of whom remarked at the commitment to the community-developed vision of the Lake Wales Connected plan. City Manager James Slaton told the group that more than 90 percent of the items listed in the plan have been initiated or completed.
A tour of Lake Wales by an influential group of specialty builders may lead to interest in new "traditional neighborhood" housing in the area, according to organizers of the event.
Several dozen members of the National Town Builders Association arrived by motorcoach to visit the area, with stops at Bok Tower Gardens, Lake Wailes Park, and a walking tour through the downtown area.
The group was led by Victor Dover, principal of the planning firm of Dover, Kohl & Partners, which led the design of the Lake Wales Connected plan and the newer Lake Wales Envisioned plan. Lake Wales City Manager James Slaton, CRA Chairman Robin Gibson, and Lake Wales Heritage President Robert Connors were among local leaders who shared their positive visions of the ongoing changes happening in the city.
The tour was organized as a field trip from the ongoing NTBA conference in Winter Haven. That gathering is being hosted by 6/10 Corporation, which has been heavily involved in the renaissance of that city's downtown commercial area.
Members of the NTBA took special interest in examples of mixed residential development found in traditional neighborhoods, as exemplified by the beautiful Court of Seven Chimneys on East Park Avenue. The small-scale apartment building is surrounded by single-family homes, providing a comfortable range of housing options within walking distance of downtown.
Gibson explained his personal investment in the ongoing renovation of his property at 244 East Park Avenue, which will soon house two retail storefronts. Four residential units will occupy the second floor of the building, which he is restoring to its original 1919 appearance.
According to Dover, many members of the organization are small-scale developers who build town-friendly housing. The development of traditional neighborhood designs, or TND, is a goal of the Envisioned plan. Those designs are built around rear-access concepts, offering front porches and visually-inviting housing rather than the garage-forward subdivision housing being built across the state.
NTVA members were duly impressed by the downtown district of Lake Wales and the ongoing work, asking numerous questions regarding residential housing opportunities in the historic district and plans for future commercial developments there.
TND projects can be created on a smaller, human-scale on vacant properties within the city, creating new neighborhoods within walking distance of urban services like shops and restaurants. Such projects can also be multi-purpose, with commercial uses on ground floors and residential units above.
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