View of parking garage along Avenue A, NW. Facade simulates storefronts.

City Commissioners, Main Street Winter Haven and the Chamber ceremoniously (or unceremoniously) took sledgehammers to concrete to symbolically begin the construction of the long-awaited downtown parking garage.  Main Street President, Anita Strang noted, “10 years ago when I leased my first space downtown, there wasn’t a parking problem. Happily now there is and I applaud the City of Winter Haven leaders for their vision in making this parking garage a reality.” Funding for the garage was appropriated from a 2002 bond issue.

The $3 million project involves Collman & Karsky Architects, Carter Engineering and will be constructed by the Everett Whitehead & Sons. Completion date is targeted for December which is great news for the Ritz Theatre, too, as renovations there will, according to Stella Heath, “Absolutely be completed in September 2011.”

(l to r) Commissioner Steve Hunnicutt, Main Street President Anita Strang, Chamber President Cindy Price, Mayor Potter, Commissioners Nat Birdsong, J.P. Powell and Jamie Beckett.

Pictured left, City Commissioner Steven Hunnicutt, Chamber President Cindy Price and Mayor Jeff Potter prepare to “demolish” a portion of the existing structure. (Bull dozers will complete the task.)

Metro Jacksonville visited downtown Winter Haven. Their well researched article “Elements of Urbanism: Winter Haven” will make you proud that someone has noticed the hard work of the past 15 years!

The extensive research and conclusions are all a click away right here.

If you have questions about the construction, design or just want to know the status of the project, join City staff as well as the design group for a discussion of all these topics.

Winter Haven Public Library Multi-purpose Room
325 Avenue A, NW
Thursday, April 28, 2011
9:00 to 11:00 a.m.

If you have any questions in advance of this open house, please contact the Community and Economic Development Department at 291-5600.

All things Fresh!

For the following 10 months beginning in February, the MainStreet Market will be held the first Saturday of each month.

Tuesday, December 14, 2010, work crews carefully mount the framework for the return of the landmark McClintock Clock on downtown’s Time Square building.  The Winter Haven community contributed money to restore the 1925 clock and actually make it run electrically.

One of about 50 such four-faced McClintock clocks remaining in the country, this clock was installed on what was then the Snell National Bank in 1925. A major gift from the Marlene Duffy-Young Memorial Fund at the Community Foundation of Greater Winter Haven joined many others from throughout our community to make the repairs on the landmark clock a reality.

A special dedication ceremony to celebrate the clock’s return and those who made it possible will be held in mid-January 2011. Main Street Winter Haven has coordinated the repair and restoration of the clock.

Join your friends from 5:30 – 7:30 p.m. and stroll the parks. Then vote for your favorite sculpture in the People’s Choice Awards. Official judges awards will also be announced that evening. Adding to the festivities will be music performed by musicians from Polk State College.

The Florida Outdoor Sculpture Competition is presented by the City of Winter Haven and the Polk Museum of Art in partnership with Main Street Winter Haven and the Winter Haven Chamber of Commerce.

You can see all ten sculptures here.

Pictured above left is Basalt Man by Glenn Zweygardt, Alfred Station, NY, and at right is Creepy Crawley by Adam C. Walls, Laurinburg, NC.

Bring your friends to Central Park, downtown Winter Haven from 6:00 – 10:00 p.m. The event is free and open to the public. Live music by BandHaven. Beer and bratwurst may be purchased individually, or V.I.P. tickets are available for $15 each, or two for $25 (include food and admission to the beer-tasting tent allowing guests to sample more than 15 specialty beers).

The sponsors are Bernie Little Distributors, Inc., the City of Winter Haven and Main Street Winter Haven, Inc.

As long as you’re downtown you can also have the bejeebies scared out of you (for those with too many bejeebies) from 7:30 to 10 p.m. when you visit Ridge Art’s “Terror on the Ridge: Bedlam Asylum” … a haunted house for adults and children age 12 and up. Based on an insane asylum theme, this will be an intense experience created in 13 rooms of sheer horror. Located just east of the historic Ritz Theatre, there is a $7 admission fee that benefits the arts group.

Make this Friday a night in Downtown Winter Haven!

Tickets available in the Chamber Lobby now through Thursday 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

More than a year in the planning, the cycling events are sanctioned as a Florida Points Series Event,  a Land Armstrong Junior Olympic Race Series Event and a US Cycling Federation events. 

You can find a complete race schedule for both the Alturas Road Race and Downtown Criterion here.

Join your friends on Saturday and Sunday for what is sure to become a premier cycling competition. This event is the latest addition to the Chain of Lakes Festival events.

Downtown Winter Haven is positively abuzz as Publix Supermarkets films an upcoming commercial for the nation’s finest grocery chain (in our humble opinion). The company was founded right here in Winter Haven nearly 79 years ago (September 6, 1930 to be exact). Ironically the filming of this commercial took place directly across Central Park from George Jenkin’s first “Publix Food Store” (now Score’s Sports Restaurant).  Between 1930 and 1941 Winter Haven was home to the only Publix Store. In 1940 Jenkins built his first store from the ground up. The building still stands on Central Avenue at 2nd Street NW across from the First Baptist Church. 

Publix reported $23.9 billion in retail sales in 2008. They have 141,000 associates and 1,001 stores … and to think it all began here!

We do not know the story line of the commercial but judging by the side of the Publix truck below, we bet it involves PUBLIX ICE CREAM!  All is flavor say aye!

Hats off to Main Street and the City of Winter Haven for a Downtown worthy of a Publix commercial.