Lake Wales Heritage and Bok Tower Gardens will be hosting a screening of a 30-minute documentary showcasing the community voices and ideas behind this significant planning effort this Thursday, October 5th at 7pm at the Lake Wales Women’s Club with a discussion to follow. We hope to see you there!

Save-the-date and attend this meeting, which will include a review of updated plan concepts and initial implementation strategies, and a chance to provide your feedback on the work completed to date.

Join us for an in-depth discussion of the draft “Complete Streets” street design and other transportation concepts under evaluation as part of the Lake Wales Envisioned plan, to improve safety and increase mobility options. Your input will help us refine the plan ideas! This session will include a brief presentation and discussion, and will be recorded and posted to the website following the meeting.

Join us for an in-depth discussion of the draft “Big Green” and “Little Green” land conservation and open space concepts under evaluation as part of the Lake Wales Envisioned plan. Your input will help us refine the plan ideas! This session will include a brief presentation and discussion and will be recorded and posted to the website following the meeting

Join us for a presentation of the draft work completed by the planning team over the course of the charrette week. You will have the chance to see illustrations, maps, and recommendations in progress, and participate in live polling to let us know what you like and don’t like. The goal of this event is to gather feedback and check if the planning team is on the right track.

In addition to in-person events, there will also be virtual events and website updates to expand participation beyond face-to-face gatherings. The event on April 17th will include a review of the input received to date, as well as offer the opportunity to interact and further shape the vision for the area. Sketch plans and draft ideas will be shared and participants will be encouraged to offer their ideas and make sure the plan is headed in the right direction.

The centerpiece of the charrette week is the Hands-on Design Session. This Saturday morning session is fun, interactive, and essential to identifying common goals and gathering input! The goal of the Hands-on Design Session is for the community to come together and work alongside one another with the planning team and develop a short and long-range vision for the future of Lake Wales. The session will include a brief presentation followed by mapping and visioning exercises at tables, with continual opportunities throughout the morning to provide input. By marking up maps and discussing and drawing specific ideas, the session helps to dive into the details of the plan and inform specific actions to implement the vision.

Meet the planning team and learn more about the charrette! This reception, hosted by Lake Wales Main Street, will be held in front of the citrus mural on Stuart Avenue and Scenic Highway. It will be an opportunity to enjoy downtown with your neighbors, talk about the opportunities and challenges facing Lake Wales, and get ready for the upcoming charrette week. A casual come-and-go event, we hope to see you there!

Why Well-Designed Neighborhoods Pay the Bills

Get ready for a deep dive into city economics, community growth, and urban design. Recognized as one of the 100 most influential urbanists of all time, Joe Minicozzi will demonstrate how communities can utilize local data and simple math to gain a powerful understanding of their fiscal health, and plan for a healthy economic future. This is a must-attend event that will change the way you think about the cost of development, sprawl, and the value of land.

Join us for an interactive kick-off meeting at the Bok Tower Gardens Auditorium to review initial project goals and findings from the afternoon Best Practices Symposium, and discuss your ideas for Lake Wales.

Please RSVP to help us get an idea of the number of people that will be attending; it is not necessary to RSVP to attend.

Join us for an informative symposium at the Bok Tower Gardens Auditorium. Presenters will share ideas, best practices, and lessons learned from peer communities that could be applicable to Lake Wales. Presentations will be placed on the website for those not able to attend. Plan to come and go as you are able.

Please RSVP to help us get an idea of the number of people that will be attending; it is not necessary to RSVP to attend.