Who shapes downtown Lake Wales

Planning, infrastructure, and redevelopment policy. Controls zoning, redevelopment approvals, infrastructure projects, and grant allocations.

Controls redevelopment districts, property incentives, and project approvals. Has sold CRA-owned property on vacant lots to spur development and enhance the tax base.

Approves land use and development changes.

Influences redevelopment indirectly by addressing blight and property compliance.

Land-boom builder behind the Rhodesbilt Arcade.

Downtown business development, events, and preservation.

Business recruitment and networking.

Large-scale investment and economic recruitment.

Technology expert, entrepreneur, and AI Visibility architect who spent his formative years in Lake Wales. Founder of BackTier and NinjaAI, host of the AI Visibility Podcast, and the force behind WorkLW in the historic Rhodesbilt Arcade. In 2026 he became the first known person to petition to change his legal middle name to "AI" as an experiment in how AI engines resolve identity.

Downtown's tallest historic landmark, opened in 1927.

President of the Lincoln Community Development Corporation and founder of Sara Jones Law. In 2021 she purchased two CRA-owned parcels on Lincoln Avenue to build a three-story, 3,600 sq ft office complex designed as both law office and community asset — co-working space, event venue, covered balcony.

The legacy of the neighborhood is inextricably connected with my own history, and I am deeply invested in its future.

Focused on revitalizing the Lincoln Avenue historic Black business district — the street that refused to be forgotten — and connecting its legacy to the broader Lake Wales Connected vision.

Award-winning revitalization blueprint for Downtown and the Northwest neighborhood, by Dover, Kohl & Partners. Revives the Olmsted Brothers' 'city in a garden' vision.

The Coral Gables town-planning firm behind Lake Wales Connected and Lake Wales Envisioned. Portfolio spans Chattanooga to Panama City to Charlotte Amalie. Walkable urbanism, community-driven design, form-based codes.

The region's largest tourism draw and cultural institution.

Major employer and student population center.

Influential in regional planning and preservation.

Created the city's 1929 master plan; also designed the gardens at Bok Tower.

Responsible for the 'city in a garden' planning concept; successors to Frederick Law Olmsted Sr.

$22.9 million for street improvements, drainage, and connectivity through the Northwest neighborhood.

Funding trail expansion.

Stack underneath the RAISE grant for street redesign, pedestrian improvements, and bike trails.

Founder of Bok Tower Gardens and its Singing Tower.

The famous gravity-hill optical illusion on the Lake Wales Ridge.

Major community gathering place on the lakefront.

Often drive neighborhood-level projects.

The Lake Wales History Museum's free heritage festival celebrates its 50th year in 2026 with historical demonstrations, pioneer crafts, a Community Market, live entertainment, and the Pioneer of the Year Award.

The 60-bell carillon inside the Singing Tower rings out over the gardens twice daily — a Lake Wales ritual since 1929.

The Lake Wales Arts Council's juried outdoor art show draws artists and collectors from across Florida to the lakefront each year.

An open evening at the Arcade for members, founders, freelancers, and anyone curious about the studio. Free to attend.