What's Happening in Winter Park, FL…

Winter Park officials would like to purchase the 1.63-acre site of an old bowling alley.

Late last month, the Winter Park Commission approved the purchase, which will cost approximately $2.9m. The bowling alley site is located on Fairbanks Avenue, and the city’s plans include expanding turn lanes there, as well as extending Martin Luther King Jr. Park.

The site’s current owner is Rollins College, which bought it in 2013 for $2.85m. The school’s plans called for construction of an athletics field on the property, but its proposals changed. The city had given its conditional approval to the school for its project, even though it called for a masking screen 40 feet high that would have provided a barrier to stop soccer and lacrosse balls from rolling into the street. However, Rollins officials found another site for their athletic field, and withdrew their plans, leaving the site for sale.

According to the city manager, Rollins has received another offer for the site, but decided to give Winter Park the first chance at buying it, since it had expressed prior interest. If Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA) funds are used to buy the property, Winter Park will still need approval from the CRA.

City officials might consider working with a flyer printing company to create a mailer for residents describing the project and soliciting their input.