Show Notes: Lake Wales Connected
**Episode Title:** Lake Wales Connected
**Host:** Jason T. Wade
**Focus:** What the city’s long-range revitalization plan actually includes, what’s already underway, and why local founders and businesses need to show up now—especially in the rooms and systems where people (and AI) are looking.
Lake Wales Connected is the city’s long-range plan to revitalize the downtown historic district and the Northwest Neighborhood. Built with public input, it centers on five priorities: Design, Activate, Connect, Populate, and Empower. This episode walks through what those priorities mean in practice, highlights major funding and projects already moving, and connects the physical work to the practical steps local businesses and founders need to take so they are findable by both people and AI systems.
---
**Key Points**
- **Design** — Seven streetscapes and five trail segments. Emphasis on adaptive reuse, historic preservation, wider sidewalks, street trees, and lighting so walking becomes the normal way to move through downtown.
- **Activate** — Market Plaza as a central outdoor gathering space for events. New restaurants and businesses already opening on Park Avenue and First Street.
- **Connect** — Trails and streets linking parks and neighborhoods. First Street (with two-way cycle track) tying downtown to A Street and Lincoln Avenue in the Northwest Neighborhood; Tower Boulevard Trail and Park Avenue Connector Trail connecting to Lake Wailes Park and toward Bok Tower Gardens.
- **Populate** — Mixed-use zoning and infill housing (townhomes, duplex-style condos) so more people live inside the historic core and keep streets active after business hours.
- **Empower** — CRA incentives and matching grants for building rehabilitation (up to 50% match on single-story buildings; up to 100% match on multi-story buildings in targeted areas).
- **Major funding & projects** — $22.9 million RAISE grant for complete streets on Central Avenue, First Street, Lincoln Avenue, and A Street. Additional work on Orange Avenue, Crystal Avenue, and Market Street. Northwest Neighborhood sidewalk improvements completed. New multi-family housing rising on the north side of downtown.
- **Lake Wales Envisioned** — Broader companion vision (Resolution 2023-18) shaped by 2023 community workshops and charrette. Includes Big Green Network mapping and a documentary film with ongoing screenings.
- **AI visibility** — New streets and plazas do not automatically create customers. When people ask AI tools (ChatGPT, Google, Gemini, etc.) where to eat, shop, or what’s happening downtown, the systems recommend businesses that are already clear, consistent, and present in the information those systems can find.
- **Lake Wales Startup Night** — Informal monthly gatherings hosted by BackTier, usually at The Thirsty Dragon (126 North First Street). Features 3-minute pitches, mastermind groups, idea awards, and guest speakers. Recent and upcoming sessions cover practical topics such as AI SEO and GEO strategy. Next event: October 21.
---
**Takeaways**
- The physical plan is already underway—Park Avenue and Market Plaza are open, First Street is receiving trees and a cycle track, trails are linking parks to downtown, and housing is rising.
- CRA matching grants exist to help businesses and property owners participate.
- Visibility (for both people walking the sidewalks and AI systems answering questions) is the remaining work.
- The founders and businesses that show up while the trees are still going in the ground will shape what the place becomes.
---
**Related**
- Lake Wales Startup Night (BackTier) — informal monthly meetup at The Thirsty Dragon, 126 N 1st St, Lake Wales
- Next Startup Night: October 21 (AI SEO & GEO Strategy)
- City of Lake Wales — Lake Wales Connected / Lake Wales Envisioned plan documents and updates
