Communication Builds Our Community
Communication Builds Our Community
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Rotary on The Ridge, one of three Rotary Clubs active in Lake Wales, enjoyed a patriotic indoor picnic on June 9, hosting members and guests as they celebrated their achievements and installed officers for the coming year. During the event Sara Irvine was installed as the tenth president of the club. Rotary on The Ridge was established in December 2016 and Irvine is a charter member. She has previously served as vice president and has chaired the club’s annual “Salute to Vet...
Ongoing efforts to restore Lake Wales' reputation as "A City in a Garden" will get another boost on Friday, June 20 as the Parks & Recreation Department will dedicate a new downtown pollinator and sculpture garden. The new installation will enhance the newly-relandscaped "linear park" parallels Cypress Gardens Lane just across from the Lake Wales Public Library. City horticulturist Kevin Polk redesigned the park to include a winding sidewalk that weaves in and around various...
The newly-reconstructed block of First Street in front of the iconic Walesbilt Hotel in Lake Wales is being re-landscaped to avoid high long-term costs, according to city officials. Canary Island date palms are being replaced this week by different species that will be hardier. Work is expected to be completed by Thursday. City Horticulturist Kevin Polk made the decision to remove the rows of Canary Island date palms, which have been affected by a disease known as lethal...
A gathering of volunteers, supporters, and staff of the Lake Wales Care Center gathered Friday near the organization's offices on East Park Avenue to celebrate and mark the 40th anniversary of the non-profit that has come to be among the most essential providers of services for a significant share of the area's population. Hundreds turned out in sweltering weather to seek shelter from the intense sun in the shade of a large tent erected to house them, eager to mark their parti...
The ongoing revitalization of downtown Lake Wales took a major step forward Tuesday with a ceremonial ribbon-cutting that opened a fully-restored building at 244 East Park Avenue. The structure now features two finished retail spaces on the ground floor and four apartments on the second level. The historic building was constructed in 1916 by Lake Wales pioneer builder Jimmy "Good" Rhodes. Rhodes went o to construct many of the original masonry buildings in the historic...
Plans for new studio apartments with lake access on Lake Padgett are advancing following action by the Lake Wales City Commission. The construction of new apartments on the site of the former Green Gables Inn will likely proceed with a significant reduction in density after a redesign of La Provence was approved by the Lake Wales City Commission. The commission had previously approved a plan that would have allowed a total of 165 new units. Attempts to reach a representative...
UPDATE: Lake Wales City Commissioners approved the relevant ordinances Tuesday on a 4-1 vote with Commissioner Carol Gillespie dissenting. The ordinances will require a second reading and vote before they become final. A proposal that will permit four million square feet of industrial space and nearly 3,000 new homes will be considered by the Lake Wales City Commission at its regular meeting Tuesday night. The Stoneridge development includes 1,287 acres with frontage of SR 60...
After a long but successful legal battle over the title to the historic Walesbilt Hotel, the Lake Wales Community Redevelopment Agency is wasting no time moving to begin their efforts to see the building redeveloped. The CRA has approved the hiring of the engineering firm of Kimley-Horn to conduct an evaluation of the hotel that will include a structural property condition report and a Phase I Environmental Site Assessment. The report the firm will generate will be included...
A new hotel and a possible new manufacturing and distribution facility are among anticipated developments at Longleaf Business Park, located on US 27 two miles south of SR 60 in Lake Wales. Maryland-based Sunset Hotel Group recently completed the purchase of a two-acre parcel at the park from the Lake Wales Community Redevelopment Agency for $197,600. Officials with SHG told Lake Wales News.net that they are deeply engaged in due diligence negotiations with several hotel...
With a minimum of discussion, the Lake Wales City Commission this week unanimously approved a Special Exception Use Permit to allow a multi-family Planned Development Project for the redevelopment of the aging 120-unit Grove Manor public housing project. "We've been working on this a long time," said Mayor Jack Hilligoss as he called for a vote. The long-awaited project is the first phase of a multi-phased Master Plan which will take place on 24.74 acres of land that...
Famed University of Florida basketball player, Walter Clayton Jr. is scheduled to attend the ribbon-cutting ceremony at Albert Kirkland Gymnasium in Lake Wales on Friday, April 18 at 5:15 p.m. A small motorcade will begin at the corner of Kissimmee Avenue and 4th Street at 5 p.m. and travel to the gymnasium. Citizens are encouraged to line the streets and follow the motorcade. "It is exciting to see a hometown hero return to the gym he played in for years," Stephanie Lutton,...
A three-day event is expected to draw more than 700 people to Lake Wales on April 25-27th as the city hosts the USA Weightlifting Florida State Championship. The event is sponsored by USA Weightlifting, which promotes the sport nationwide. The event will be held at Lake Wales High School and will feature more than 500 athletes competing in an Olympic-style weightlifting competition. "This event will stimulate our local economy," said City Manager James Slaton. "Tourism...
With the approval of a deal with Walesbilt Hotel owner Raymond Brown, the Lake Wales City Commission has cleared the way for the private redevelopment of the landmark building. The acceptance of the lawsuit settlement by the five-person commission, which also sits as the city's Community Redevelopment Agency board, ends a three-year battle over the building. The settlement brings the building back under city control more than a decade after it was given to Brown's Dixie...
Lake Wales received a wave of television coverage this week as area broadcasters sent teams to cover the big economic news of the settlement between Dixie Walesbilt LLC and the City of Lake Wales that will return ownership of the landmark hotel to the City after more than a decade. Interviews with City Manager James Slaton and Community Redevelopment Agency Chairman Robin Gibson were conducted Tuesday in front of the 10-story structure by four different Tampa Bay area...
The City of Lake Wales negotiation team has apparently approved a settlement agreement with Dixie Walesbilt LLC that will result in the return of the landmark Walesbilt Hotel to the City. The City Commission and CRA agendas Tuesday evening include the agreement which should end a two-year legal battle and set the stage for renovation of the 98-year-old hotel. The agreement attached to the meeting notices has already been executed by Dixie Walesbilt owner Ray Brown and City...
The future redevelopment of the Walesbilt Hotel and the ongoing Lake Wales Connected effort would be placed at serious risk if the Florida Legislature adopts a pair of bills currently being considered. Florida House Bill 991 and Senate Bill 1242 would put severe restrictions on Community Redevelopment Agencies (CRAs) in Florida, effectively stopping their efforts to address declining neighborhoods. “This is serious,” said Lake Wales CRA chairman Robin Gibson. “It is incon...
After nearly a decade of operations in Lake Wales, the Merlin Magic Making facility at Longleaf Business Park is apparently closing its doors. A filing with the Florida Department of Commerce informed them of the layoffs of 31 workers at the facility beginning May 31. That number approaches the total number of employees at the site, leading to expectations that it will be closed completely, according to local sources. Merlin is the parent company of Legoland, which recently...
A tasty tour of nearly two dozen downtown Lake Wales businesses will be featured this Thursday, April 10 as Lake Wales Main Street presents their 6th annual Wine DownTown. Food samples from several downtown restaurants, including Melanie's Seafood Company, Mimi's Bakery, Cocoa Cakes Studio, The Thirsty Dragon, and The Peach and Pepper will be offered at each of the participating businesses. The food samples will be accompanied by free samples of fine wines and craft beers...
Lake Wales Mayor Jack Hilligoss won an easy reelection victory Tuesday, turning back a challenge from former city commissioner Curtis Gibson in a race that saw record amounts spent, primarily by outside groups. Hilligoss received 1390 votes, or 60.96 percent of the vote, while Gibson took 890 votes, or 39.04 percent. Hilligoss will be sworn in to serve a new three-year term as chair of the five-person commission. Voters also approved a charter amendment that will require...
What has undoubtedly been the ugliest Lake Wales municipal election campaign in memory is coming to a conclusion on April 1, when voters will have a last chance to help select a mayor who will serve a new three-year term. Incumbent Mayor Jack Hilligoss is being challenged by former city commissioner Curtis Gibson. The campaign has been marked by a series of attacks using both direct mail and text messages funded by a "dark-money" political action committee based in Tampa. The...
America's love affair with automobiles comes with consequences, including unwanted highways. The population boom on the Lake Wales Ridge, powered by scores of large residential developments, has proven that worse traffic is always just around the corner. Now a proposal from Florida's Turnpike to build an expressway down the Lake Wales Ridge, connecting the Orlando area with Lake Wales, is generating more controversy. That state agency has grown from a single toll road from...
A ruling by Circuit Judge Jennifer Swensen this month has brought the City of Lake Wales and the city's Community Redevelopment Agency significantly closer to reclaiming the title to the landmark Walesbilt Hotel, bringing redevelopment of the building within reach. The legal battle over control of the historic structure began when the city filed the suit in February 2022. The most-recent ruling dismissed a counter-suit and appeal for summary judgement filed by defendant...
Two new restaurants are among the immediate results of the investment in a renewed downtown historic district by the Community Redevelopment Agency and the City of Lake Wales. The city recently celebrated the opening of the re-imagined Park Avenue which, along with stretches of First Street, Scenic Highway, and the Market Plaza, have been turned into lush gardens lining brick streets intended to create an attractive setting for dining and retail. The Thirsty Dragon, an...
The city of Lake Wales is moving forward with the expansion of the city's fire department after city commission approval of design work for a third station planned for Hunt Brothers Road. A five acre site at the southeast corner of South Ninth Street (Nest Egg Road) was purchased at a cost of $300,000 in November after a search in that area turned up no other site that was both appropriate and available. Fire Department Chief Joe Jenkins told the commission at that time that...
A ceremonial ground-breaking for a multi-million dollar water desalination facility east of Lake Wales has marked the next step in a multi-jurisdictional effort to assure adequate water supplies for the future of Polk County. The rapid development taking place across the region has created a looming water crisis, with at least one town, Dundee, forced to declare a building moratorium due to a lack of potable water supply. Led by the Southwest Florida Water Management District...
