Lake Wales, Fla. (June 26, 2024) – The City of Lake Wales was awarded a $22.9 million grant to fund the redevelopment of four road segments in historic downtown Lake Wales. The funding was awarded by the Rebuilding American Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity (RAISE) program.
First Street, Central Avenue, Lincoln Avenue and A Street will be redeveloped into complete streets according to the City’s award-wining Lake Wales Connected Plan.
The City’s project plan is one of 148 nationwide projects to be awarded funding by the RAISE program.
“This grant greatly impacts the core of historic Lake Wales, accelerating the revitalization of the downtown district and northwest neighborhood,” City Manager James Slaton said.
The plan comprises a road diet, separated cycle track, expanded ADA accessible sidewalks, safety enhancements at sidewalks and railroad crossings, increased shade tree canopy cover and raingardens, lighting, underground high-speed fiber and streetscaping.
“Lake Wales beat out other major cities throughout the nation,” Lee Hale, civil engineer and grant writer with Hale Innovation said.
Other projects within the Lake Wales Connected plan include the recently completed 3,000-foot multiuse Park Avenue Connector Trail that connects Lake Wailes Park to downtown, and the construction of an $18.5 million revitalization project on Park Avenue, scheduled to be completed this fall.
The RAISE program provides funding to projects of local and regional significance, such as multimodal and multijurisdictional road, rail, transit and port projects.