Northwest Recreation Complex Next to Receive Improvements

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 park.

The funding will help with the implementation of the city's Parks and Recreation Master Plan study, a $46,850.00 effort to understand the potential of the parks and plan the best placement of future facilities. That effort is being conducted by Catalyst Design Group under a city contract.

The study covers a total of seven parks, including Lake Wailes Park, Kiwanis Park and Crystal Lake Park, the city's soccer complex on Hunt Brothers Road, the Little League Sports Complex, and North Lake Wailes Park.

The Northwest Complex hosts a variety of youth activities, including football practice fields for local leagues. It is sometimes used for tournaments.

The popular basketball courts will receive the most attention, with $31,880 being allocated to improving the surfaces and nets. Another 2,000 will be spent to provide new nets for the tennis courts.

The fencing for the complex is projected to cost $12,520, with another $3,600 allocated to purchase the new picnic tables.