Communication Builds Our Community
Communication Builds Our Community
Conclusion Will See Reopening of Entire Length of Park Avenue
The long construction project to turn the once-desolate Park Avenue in downtown Lake Wales into an attractive pedestrian magnet is apparently approaching a conclusion. Once completed, the entire length of Park Avenue will be open for two-way traffic for the first time in nearly two years.
Newly-poured concrete sidewalks and curbs are signs that the reconstruction of the intersection of Scenic Highway and Park Avenue in Lake Wales is rapidly approaching a conclusion. Space has been reserved for trees and other landscaping at the site.
Traffic on Scenic Highway has been detoured around the construction site since late October. The project timeline suggested a 90-day closure, but that schedule may be surpassed if progress is maintained.
The work is the first and most-complex project of urban renewal called for in the Lake Wales Connected plan. The plan, guided by a team of professional planners, included months of effort collecting citizen input.
The Park Avenue work included the complete reconstruction of the Market Plaza between Park and Stuart Avenues. The expanded town square now features more trees, a large expanse of brick surface, a lawn, and swinging benches, among other attractions.
Beautiful flowering plants and shade trees now set off the impressions of Park Avenue for residents and visitors alik
The $11.5 million project was funded through bonds issued by the Community Redevelopment Agency, which collects the "tax increment" created by rising property valuations within its boundaries.
Future construction phases of the Connected plan have been funded by a series of federal grants totaling some $25 million. That work will address about an additional mile of streets, adding new sidewalks, lighting, rain gardens, landscaping, bike tracks, and other amenities.
Included in the Connected plan is the re-development of the obsolete Grove Manor public housing lying west of North First Street. The existing apartments will be demolished and replaced by a mix of affordable and market-rate housing, including multi-level apartments and single-family homes.
At the Park-and-Scenic site of construction, workers have completed the underground utilities and have been pouring concrete to complete sidewalks and curbs in recent days. The lime rock base for new asphalt has been laid and compacted in preparation for a topcoat of asphalt.
The project creates new, shorter and safer crosswalks connecting downtown retailers with city-owned parking lots east of Scenic Highway. A re-phased traffic signal will allow for left-turning vehicles along Scenic Highway.
What was once a landscape of bare sand and heavy equipment has become an attractive brick street with lush new landscaping between Wetmore and Scenic Highway in downtown Lake Wales.
The project is expected to stimulate new investment in the city's historic downtown area. Several buildings in the area have changed hands since the project was announced, and some are already undergoing extensive construction work to restore once "modernized" historic facades.
Retail in the area has suffered in recent years, and merchants struggling with low pedestrian-traffic counts are banking on increased visitors to the beautified area. The Lake Wales City Commission approved "stay grants" of $5,000 to each remaining retailer who was impacted by the Park Avenue work.
A crowd gathered on Park Avenue in January of 2023 to mark the beginning of construction on Park Avenue. The work, conducted in multiple phases, began on West Park Avenue and moved eastward. It is expected to be completed in coming weeks, although the installation of multiple streetlights and other fixtures may take additional time.
Some new businesses have opened in the area and others are in the works. A new restaurant is expected to occupy the former Wales Pointe location on Park Avenue. A new tavern, The Thirsty Dragon, is expected to open near the intersection of Park and First Street in January.
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