Renovation work well under way at Railroad Park in Downtown Haines City.
By BRENDA EGGERT BRADER
News Chief correspondentPublished: Sunday, December 7, 2008 at 4:01 a.m.
HAINES CITY- Haines City has been putting its best foot - and sidewalk pavers and landscaping - forward in its quest to renovate and upgrade throughout the community. Railroad Park downtown is getting a full face lift, as are various areas in the downtown blocks.
Paul Senft, Haines City Economic Development president, said he sees the changes as being beneficial in trying to attract new businesses and industries. "People go a lot by first impressions," Senft said. "We have seen a lot of change with the widening of U.S. Highway 27 and the downtown has needed upgrading. We need to make a good impression on industries." Senft said prospective industries look at the community they are considering for prosperous areas and seeing things like "the Lake Eva (recreational complex) renovations and the work on Ingraham Avenue," where downtown buildings have been remodeled or renovated. "The arcade where we (EDC) are located has been completely remodeled," Senft said. "The bank has been remodeled and is now pediatricians' offices." He said a lot of the buildings are being remodeled as the city completes its work on downtown areas. Senft said people want to shop close to where they park, in some cases right out in front of the store, like in downtown areas.
Railroad Park, between Park Place, North Sixth Street and Jones and Ingraham avenues, has always been a park area with a gazebo "that was often used for weddings," Assistant City Manager Eric Sauer said. "A nice 30-foot gazebo, with clock at the top, will be built as part of the $2.3 million renovations that will also include water, storm sewers, roads, sidewalks, landscaping and new lighting. It will look pretty slick when it is done," Sauer said. By Feb. 15, Railroad Park should be completed, Sauer said.
Other projects being done downtown, at a cost of about $2 million, include landscaping on all the streetscapes. Some downtown events have had to be canceled due to construction, Sauer said. Among those were the bike nights and car cruise-ins. Until the construction is completed, "the decision as to where those events will be held has not yet been made," he said. Bruce Prince, chairman of the board of directors for the Haines City Main Street and Merchants Association, and owner of Prince Land Service, said Prince Land is doing utilities and landscaping work on Railroad Park. "We just had a meeting this week and included in the discussion were the finer details like the gazebo. It will be the centerpiece of the park," Prince said. As leader of the recently-formed Main Street/merchants group in Haines City, Prince said the group, formed by merging the Main Street group with the merchants' organization, is currently in a membership drive. Because of the small size of the merchant base, "we are a limited number of people," he said. Once the group has a larger membership base "we will have a new board elected to manage (the association)," Prince said. Working closely with the Economic Development Council and having the "support of the (Haines City) chamber of commerce and the city," Prince said the association's goal is "to make Haines City a more attractive place and to encourage more merchants" to move to the city. "You know we are a growing city over here and we are excited," he said.
The Haines City Commission donated funds toward the first-year association's $78,000 budget to get it started, but Prince said that as of yet, the group has not taken the funds. "We will get to that when we have everything together," he said. Still in the organizational stages, the Main Street group meets with liaisons from the city and chamber to help "give us their benefit of years of experience. It has been working out really well," Prince added. A lot of economic growth is viewed in Haines City, Prince said. "Haines City is finally turning corners. There is a lot of shopping, things to see and it makes people want to live here. We are the third largest city in Polk County now. The Haines Commerce Park has taken off what with the Aldis Distribution Center" and other businesses. "Those will make a big difference to Haines City and that will bring up the standard of living for the community. It will be a compounded effect for us all," Prince said.