Winter Haven approves $3.7M contract to transform reclaimed wetlands into Lake Conine park

Winter Haven officials are moving forward with a long-term plan to turn restored wetlands into a natural recreational park for local residents.

The City Commission approved a contract of more than $3.7 million with local, family owned Whitehead Construction to build a new Lake Conine Nature Park. The project has been more than a decade in the works, according to Julie Adams, the city's parks, recreation and culture director.

"It's something we've been very intentional about, being able to connect it to the community," she said. "It has not been forgotten or pushed off the radar."

Andy Palmer, Winter Haven's parks planning and strategic initiatives manager, said the city purchased the roughly 32-acre property approximately 10 to 15 years ago to restore it to wetlands to benefit Lake Conine and the surrounding communities. The land was once part of the city's Boggy Bottom community, according to Palmer, even though it was historically platted to be left wetlands.

The city's first phase in restoring the wetlands was creating a series of wetland cells to help filter the water, Palmer said. This was done in partnership between the city and Polk County, the state and the Southwest Florida Water Management District.

"It's designed to catch stormwater from this neighborhood off Lucerne Park Road and go filter through the wetlands before hitting Lake Conine," he said. "It will improve the water quality of Lake Conine."

Whitehead Construction will begin the second phase of adding recreational elements within the next two months. The main access and parking lot will be located to the southeast off Lucerne Park Road.

The city's plans call for an informational kiosk to greet visitors coming in from the 26-space parking lot and bike racks with up to $150,000 budgeted for playground equipment and a picnic pavilion. The site will also feature a roughly mile-long loop trail loop around the perimeter of the park with several smaller interior loops.

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"The trail system will be a recreational space to allow residents to get out there and see wildlife, go birding, the wetland plantings along the lakeshore and see the wetland cells as well," Palmer said.

A detailed list of recreational elements proposed by Whitehead Construction include three shade structures, three metal picnic tables with six benches, a chilled water station, four dog stations, an osprey tower and a bat house. The plans call for a new 8-foot by 100-foot fishing pier extending onto Lake Conine.

The $3,787,630 price tag for this project will be shared between the city and several partners: Duke Energy, the Florida Department of Environmental Protection, Polk County and federal Community Development Block Grant funding, Palmer said. Construction is expected to take about 10 months.

"We are looking forward to getting boots on the ground soon and delivering it to the community," Adams said.

Palmer said the city will schedule a construction open house for neighborhoods adjacent to the new park, where residents can see the final plan, voice any construction concerns and get additional information on the time frame and park elements.

Sara-Megan Walsh can be reached at swalsh@theledger.com or 863-802-7545. Follow on X @SaraWalshFl.

This article originally appeared on The Ledger: Winter Haven has big plans for 32-acre wetlands south of Lake Conine