Communication Builds Our Community
Communication Builds Our Community
Sorted by date Results 26 - 50 of 455
Driving around and through the Lake Wales area is expected to become much easier soon as the massive bridge replacement project at US 27 and SR 60 nears completion. Construction teams are preparing to apply the new "friction" pavement surfaces to both roadways and adjacent parts of Central Avenue. New traffic signals, signage, and street lighting is already installed and began functioning in recent weeks, easing the formerly-confusing passage through the darkened construction...
The wild swings of weather seen in central Florida in recent days is expected to continue this week with a dash of severe threats thrown into the mixture, as the long-predicted El Nino weather pattern takes hold here. The immediate concern is for Tuesday evening, when a strong, fast moving squall line is expected to pass over the Lake Wales Ridge with the potential for damaging winds. Cloud to ground lightning and a slight risk of tornadoes has been forecast as well....
UPDATE: Per Polk County officials, "utility construction scheduled to close Hamlin Street in Lake Wales this week has been postponed until Tuesday morning January 9. Work should be finished, and roadway reopened to traffic by noon Wednesday, January 10. Closure is needed to open-cut both travel lanes on Hamlin Street just north of Grove Avenue to install a potable water line." Initial construction of streets and utilities to serve the 600-unit Hunt Club development will...
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...
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...
A previously-denied development proposal was turned down a second time by a 3-2 vote of the Lake Wales City Commission after the engineers and planners failed to meet the city's criteria of a "superior" residential development. Developers of the project, known simply as "Oak Development," applied for status as a Planned Development Project, or PDP, to allow sharply increased density from the underlying R-1 zoning. The PDP approval would allow the developer to define 64 lots...
A new financial disclosure requirement that has caused hundreds of municipal officials across the state to resign their offices is also having impacts in the Lake Wales area. The state law, which takes effect January 1, requires every elected official in cities, towns, and villages across the state to complete a comprehensive disclosure of income and assets that many consider draconian. The form will replace the simpler, and less invasive, Form 1 previously required. The...
Improvements to the Lake Wales Northwest Recreation Complex on Florida Avenue are on the way after the city received a $50,000 recreation grant from the state. The sports facility is the home of Frasier Field and hosts a variety of other recreational activities along with picnic facilities. The grant from the Florida Recreational Development Assistance Program, known as FRDAP, will pay for improvements to basketball and tennis courts, two new picnic tables, and fencing at the...
Lake Wales has once again been featured in a major publication citing the pioneering planning work contained in Lake Wales Envisioned. That document, funded by the city of Lake Wales, is a comprehensive road map to a future that promises less impact from growth and a more habitable city. An article that in the online magazine Public Square says that "Lake Wales, Florida, has adopted a plan that puts active mobility at the heart of day-to-day life." Entitled "Planning a City...
With only four months to go before Lake Wales voters will choose two candidates to serve on the city commission, the first challenger has announced his intention to win a three-year term on the five-member board. Lifelong resident Brandon Alvarado will seek the district two seat currently held by Daniel Williams. Alvarado, 27, is deeply engaged in civic organizations and in his announcement, he touts his experience as an example of his commitment to the city. "My experience wo...
The realization of a "Big Green Network" of environmental lands that will forever form limits to the potential urbanization of the Lake Wales area drew a step closer this week. Lifelong Lake Wales resident and member of a pioneer family, Edwin Friedlander has offered his 749-acre ranch property for acquisition through the Polk Forever program, approved by voters in 2022. The property was assessed by a "technical advisory team" before being approved by the Conservation Lands...
A delightful evening filled with colorful holiday décor, music, happiness, and yes, snow, will fill the streets of downtown Lake Wales with families getting themselves deeply into the holiday spirit. The annual "Make It Magical" event, hosted by Lake Wales Main Street and a host of sponsors, has become a holiday tradition for area residents who pour into the downtown streets to share in the festive air. The 9th annual event will happen this Friday night, December 8, along...
"Toys on Parade" will dazzle children and adults alike this weekend in Lake Wales as the annual Christmas night parade steps off. The parade happens this Saturday at 6:00 and thousands are expected to line First Street and Central Avenue along the roughly one-mile route. The display of creative and colorfully-lighted floats and bands, along with dancers, musicians, and other examples of holiday cheer is following a new route this year due to ongoing construction on Park...
The expansive Ridgecrest development took a step forward recently with the approval of a "developer's agreement" by the Lake Wales City Commission that provides for the costs of infrastructure for the 312 acre project. The previously-approved planned-development project includes 1,020 single-family and townhomes located south of Russell Avenue and north of Hunt Brothers Road, between US 27 and SR 17. Included in the design is a new multi-purpose trail that will extend from...
Music fans from around the country are expected to gather in Lake Wales Friday and Saturday, December 1 and 2 as a local non-profit hosts the "Orange Blossom Revue." The annual "celebration of music, community, and nature" is returning the city for a ninth year and is expected to draw crowds of music-lovers to the shores of Lake Wailes. The two-day event features a lineup of top musical acts in a wide range of genres ranging from "R&B to country to folk to jazz," according to...
A large-scale redevelopment proposal that includes both Lake Wales Country Club and the adjacent Oakwood golf course community is raising passions among residents, some of whom have differing responses to the concept, which merges the two golf courses into a single 18-hole course. A new hotel would accompany hundreds of townhomes, apartments, and single-family homes, a total of 1,424 dwelling units spread across 522 acres. Nearly 152 acres would remain as open space under the...
In nothing less than a transformation, the formerly dreary stretch of Park Avenue west of First Street is swiftly becoming an attractive green oasis intended to help draw pedestrian traffic to the heart of Lake Wales. The three-block-long stretch of the street west of Scenic Highway is the heart of the $20 million investment being made by the Lake Wales Community Redevelopment Agency to reinvigorate the city's urban core. Conceived as "Lake Wales Connected" by a team of...
Hundreds in Lake Wales were left stunned and saddened recently by the sudden passing of Drew Truitt, a community volunteer described by one friend as a "social instigator." Truitt, 67, had celebrated his birthday only days earlier at a meeting of Rotary on the Ridge, which was one of several avenues for his enthusiasm and willingness to help. Truitt had been named Rotarian of the Year in 2018-19 largely due to his contagious enthusiasm for volunteer projects and his...
A CRA grant will help a local not-for-profit save an aging historic building that serves as an important civic space in downtown Lake Wales. The Lake Wales Woman's Club was awarded a $50,000 grant that will help the 100-year-old organization pay for a new roof for their auditorium at 275 East Park Avenue. The funds will also help remediate mold, according to CRA staff. The grant meets three of the goals cited in the Lake Wales Connected plan recommendations, Assistant City...
The deadline for entering a float in the Lake Wales Christmas night parade is fast approaching, according to members of the sponsoring Rotary on the Ridge. Those interested in being a part of the event have until November 30 to send in their entry forms. The theme of this year's procession is "Toys on Parade," and numerous entries are expected to feature toys, some on a gigantic scale. The parade will follow a modified route through the city this year after lining up at Polk...
A newly-renovated Family Recreation Center is now open to the public with a full line-up of new equipment and freshened facilities. A ribbon-cutting ceremony attended by city officials welcomed the first crowd of enthusiasts on Saturday. The newly-refreshed building features new vinyl plank flooring flooring in the entry, lobby, rear hallway, childcare area, and the Turner Center meeting room. Those same areas have been freshly painted, along with walls in restroom and shower...
Even as the Lake Wales area enjoys pleasant and mild weather, it's important to keep a weather-eye out for late-developing tropical storms and hurricanes that could threaten to disrupt our idyllic autumn days. Now two long-range models are depicting just such a potential. Hurricane season runs through November 30, and there have been occasional storms that have developed even after that date. The unusually-warm water in the Atlantic basin, coupled with unseasonable warmth,...
New life is being breathed into a significant building in the historic center of Lake Wales after actions taken by the Lake Wales Community Redevelopment Agency on Tuesday. The city commission, sitting as the CRA board, also agreed to a new loan program to help local investors fund the renovation of five downtown retail units. "This is new, this is the first one," CRA Executive Director James Slayton said of the $100,000 loan toward a First Street property owned by Tammy and S...
A major resurfacing project is expected to disrupt traffic flow on US 27 during the coming months as contractors undertake improvements to about seven miles of the six-lane thoroughfare stretching from Waverly Road in Lake Wales north to Kokomo Road in Lake Hamilton. According to the Florida Department of Transportation, the project involves removing and replacing the asphalt roadway surface, as well as reworking shoulders. The project also includes widening and adding a new...
In the high-energy future facing Lake Wales there's little doubt that high-energy management is required to keep up. As Lake Wales faces a wave of growth, with about 15,000 new residences planned to be built here in the next several years, Assistant City Manager Deena Drumgo may be the ideal person to help the city face the challenges ahead. Drumgo, the former city manager of Dundee, came to Lake Wales from Winter Haven, where she oversaw that city's community redevelopment ag...
