Communication Builds Our Community
Communication Builds Our Community
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The popular network of walking and biking trails weaving through Lake Wales is about to grow a great deal better, thanks to grants received by the city. New planned segments include the Ridge Scenic Highway Connector Trail that will connect the western end of the Lake Wales Trailway to the new Park Avenue Trail near Crystal Lake. It will run south along Third Street from a point just west of the Lake Wales Little Theatre, thereby also accessing the Lake Wailes Trail. That link...
BARTOW - A Circuit Court ruling Thursday has set the stage for reverting ownership of the historic Walesbilt Hotel in Lake Wales back to the city, ending a years-long legal battle for control of the 10-story building. Circuit Judge William T. Sites ruled that the current owner, Dixie-Walesbilt LLC's Raymond Brown, fraudulently induced the city into contracting with him to redevelop the property, and ultimately to sign the deed over to Brown, according to the ruling. The...
Three challengers seeking two seat on the Lake Wales City Commission held the stage at a Monday evening candidates forum after both incumbents failed to show up for the 90-minute event. The election is four weeks away, slated for Tuesday, April 2. Carol Gillespie, seeking seat 4 on the five-person commission, along with Brandon Alvarado and Crystal Higbee, both seeking seat 2, shared their ideas and responded to questions from the audience at the forum sponsored by the...
Voters will have two chances next week to see and hear incumbents and candidates for seats on the Lake Wales City Commission air their views and positions on a wide variety of topics during two candidate forums. Events are planned for both Monday and Wednesday evenings, March 4 and March 6, giving registered voters within city limits extra opportunity to become informed. Five candidates will vie for two seats on the commission in the April 2 vote. Although candidates must...
While the ribbon-cutting and dedication of the newly reconstructed portions of Park Avenue and First Street remains in the planning stage, the newly-completed stretches of West Park Avenue and North First Street are now open to two-way traffic. The opening comes concurrent with the closure of the eastern portion of Park Avenue, a situation expected to last most of the year as the pavement is removed, utilities upgraded, and new sidewalks and brick streets are installed. Shoppe...
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...
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...
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...
A series of free downtown street concerts will enliven evenings downtown over the coming months, thanks to an alliance between the Lake Wales main Street, Lake Wales Arts Council, and the City of Lake Wales. The shows kick-off with the Outta Hand Band on Friday, November 10. "Lake Wales Live" will offer residents good reason to visit the downtown area, and perhaps get a sneak peek at the ongoing transformation of the area as the Lake Wales Connected plan proceeds, according to...
The changing face of downtown Lake Wales is moving forward as contractors begin the second phase of a multi-part project to reconstruct Park Avenue between Wetmore Street and Scenic Highway. A closure of a block of First Street will begin Monday morning, August 28, and is expected to last until November. At that time the street will reopen along with the completed western block of Park Avenue between First and Wetmore, which will then be open to two-way traffic for the first...
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...
Lake Wales area parks and recreational facilities may stand to get a funding boost as a result of a grant received by the state of Florida. The Department of the Interior announced the distribution of $14,323,172 to the state of Florida today as part of the $295,582,830 granted this year from the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) to all 50 states, U.S. territories, and the District of Columbia. The funds from this year's distribution will be available until fiscal year...
Continuous access to downtown businesses will be maintained during construction of the transformative Lake Wales Connected designs, representatives of Gomez Construction assured gathered merchants at a Tuesday morning meeting. Project manager Mahmoud Heda said that, despite unavoidable traffic detours, "sidewalks will never be shut down during business hours." The 8:30 am gathering at The Marketplace Café allowed Heda and Main Street Manager Ronni Wood to explain the complex...
Crews from Gomez Construction have made substantial progress on a block of West Park Avenue between First Street and Wetmore Street. The reconstruction is part of the $11.5 million transformation of that street and, eventually, the adjoining eastern blocks and the adjacent MarketPlace. The Lake Wales Post office and adjacent businesses are being served from a parking lot accessible from Orange Avenue, one block to the north. Signage has been placed to direct traffic to the...
A new bicycle and pedestrian trail will continue the expansion of a growing network connecting neighborhoods across Lake Wales following city commission approval of an interlocal agreement with Polk County on Wednesday. Creation of a functional network of trails is a repeated recommendation contained in the Lake Wales Connected plan, cited as a significant contributor to the health and well-being of residents. The Ridge Scenic Highway Trail segment will extend 3,975 feet and...
Crews from Gomez Construction will be barricading a block of West Park Avenue between First Street and Wetmore Street on Monday, March 6 to begin the $11.5 million transformation of that street and, eventually, the adjoining eastern blocks and the adjacent MarketPlace. The project is the first major undertaking of the ambitious $20 million project defined by the Lake Wales Connected plan, which was developed with wide public input. The finished product will feature a brick-pav...
A major effort to develop a master plan to govern the future development of seven parks in the city of Lake Wales is the goal of a new contract Catalyst Design Group. The project was recently approved by the city commission. The planning effort will cover Lake Wailes Park, Kiwanis Park and Crystal Lake Park, which form the core of the city's park system. It will also include the city's soccer complex on Hunt Brothers Road, the Northwest Complex/Frasier Field park, the Little...
Balancing improved public access to the natural beauty of Crystal Lake Park with parking needs and traffic circulation and the effect upon views and wildlife drew a small crowd to a special meeting Wednesday evening. The meeting at the Lake Wales Tourist Club in the subject park sought to gain public input. Consultants presented conceptual drawings representing potential alignments and configurations of the proposed trail which will "close the loop" around the small namesake...
A special public workshop at Crystal Lake Park will give residents an opportunity to discuss ideas and options for a new connecting bike-and-pedestrian trail segment. Engineers and planners will be on hand to share design ideas and preliminary drawings. The proposed trail, linking Lake Wales Library and the Bok Academy North neighborhood with Park Avenue and the Lake Wailes Trail, will parallel Sessoms Avenue on the north side of Crystal Lake, and is expected to offer views...
An $18.5 million bond issuance received final approval from the Lake Wales City Commission on Tuesday, completing the funding of the award-winning Lake Wales Connected project. The approval in back-to-back meetings of the Community Redevelopment Agency and the City Commission was the final step necessary for the city's bond counsel firm of Ford and Associates. It is expected that the bonds will be offered on the market almost immediately. Ford and Associates has guaranteed...
The historic Crystal Lake will Apartments at 282 East Park Avenue are expected to undergo extensive remodeling and exterior refurbishment after their purchase by the Lake Wales Care Center. The 100-year-old building has been vacant for about three years. The purchase price was discounted to $340,000, according to Antonio Spagnolo of Bright Trust Realty, in recognition of some damage caused during the passage of Hurricane Ian in September. Both the purchase price and the...
The Lake Wales Connected plan took a major step forward this week as the Lake Wales Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA) voted Tuesday to award a construction contract for the Park Avenue reconstruction. Work on the multi-million dollar project is expected to begin in January. "This is the showpiece project of the Lake Wales Connected plan," City Manager James Slaton told city commissioners sitting as the CRA board. "It's been at least a couple of years to get to this point."...
More than three miles of streets around Lake Wales are in for improved surfaces in coming months, part of the city's multi-year street maintenance program. The largest single project will be the resurfacing of 2,260 feet of Sessoms Avenue from Scenic Highway to Wales Drive. The project will use a process called "cape seal," which will extend the life of existing asphalt band and allow the budget to cover more streets, according to Division Manager Beverly Pennington of the...
A special free learning opportunity is being offered to area Middle and High School students, who will learn and earn a special completion certificate as "Student Naturalists."The program is being offered in special Saturday events at Lake Wales Public Library, and will be led by certified Florida educators. The three-hour educational program, described as "a fun experience," is being hosted by Lake Wales Heritage, a local non-profit endeavoring to recreate the "garden city"...
A special free learning opportunity is being offered to area Middle and High School students, who will learn and earn a special completion certificate as "Student Naturalists."The program is being offered in special Saturday events at Lake Wales Public Library, and will be led by certified Florida educators. The three-hour educational program is being hosted by Lake Wales Heritage, a local non-profit endeavoring to recreate the "garden city" envisioned by city founders. While...
