With the first of a pair of public meetings on the matter just hours away, Bok Tower Gardens is just one local business voicing concerns over the newest proposal of the Central Polk Parkway, a toll road slated to offer an alternate route to I-4 amid a growing amount of traffic on US Hwy. 27.
The body of an email sent to annual members of the Gardens on January 13, 2025 states the following:

Connecting With Our Members
January 13, 2025
Dear Member,
As the landscape throughout Central Florida continues to change, we want our members to be informed about potential changes to our community that may impact the future of Bok Tower Gardens.
Recently, the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT), Florida’s Turnpike Enterprise (Enterprise), proposed an Alternative Corridor Evaluation (ACE) for Central Polk Parkway East from SR 60 to US 17/92.
The ACE will evaluate corridor alternatives for a new tolled, limited-access highway from SR 60 to US 17/92.
The proposed highway will link to Interstate 4 and SR 429 (Western Beltway) through the future Poinciana Connector (SR 538), which will serve as a high-speed, alternate travel route to US 27. While traffic is a significant concern, this highway would seriously impact Bok Tower Gardens and the historic communities of Starr Lake and Mountain Lake. We are concerned about the 2025 proposed corridor as this route could negatively impact our viewshed, cause excessive light pollution, and create excessive road noise. The proposed highway could come within a half a mile of Bok Tower Gardens.
Bok Tower Gardens has been working for twenty years and has made significant progress in protecting the Ridge to River Wildlife Corridor along with the Florida Communities Trust, Green Horizon Land Trust, and the Polk County Environmental Lands Program. This wildlife corridor protects a major east-west panther crossing between the Starr Lake and Mountain Lake communities. Unfortunately, the proposed highway could obliterate that wildlife corridor.
What can our members do? Bok Tower Gardens is suggesting that the state agencies return to the 2012 approved route and appropriate wildlife underpasses be located on that route. The final route of the road should not impact designated conservation areas. We request the highway not be within 2 miles of Bok Tower Gardens to protect our viewshed.
We ask our members to attend the January 14 (Virtual Meeting) and January 15 (In-Person) meetings and recomend the 2012 corridor be considered instead of the newly proposed route. You can register here or click the link below.
Additionally, you can submit written or verbal comments to Jazlyn Heywood P.E. at [email protected] or by phone at 407-264-3298.
Thank you for supporting our efforts to keep Bok Tower Gardens the jewel of the Ridge and preserve our historical and cultural legacy. We will keep you informed of the progress via your weekly email.
David Price, president and CEO of Bok Tower Gardens, has confirmed the contents of the email, which discusses the proposed roadway. The email also notes what members can do if they are as concerned about the route the new toll road may take.
Lake Wales Daily has requested Price make a statement on the matter with regard to potential effects of the toll road and have received the following response:
“At Bok Tower Gardens, we have been stewards of the land along with the Mountain Lake Community for over 100 years. The vistas and open lands are essential to protect and preserve the historic Olmsted design of the Gardens, grove lands, and community. As citrus declines, the Gardens has worked for decades with the State of Florida, Green Horizon Land Trust, donors, and various landowners to purchase old agricultural lands to restore the land to longleaf pine to preserve wildlife corridors. We understand that Polk County is growing and there will be a need for new roads, but our tireless work and planning should not be undermined by a lack of planning to preserve future road corridors. In 2012, the Polk Transportation Planning Organization worked with the public to set up a road corridor accepted by all. The route was public record. While we were protecting wildlife corridors, the County and municipalities were not protecting future road corridors. Now, they want to take our wildlife corridors, nature preserves, and historic communities to use as road corridors. The proposed 2025 Central Polk Parkway East Corridor could wipe out a documented panther and wildlife corridor and come within 2000 feet of the Gardens. Polk County Commissioners and FDOT should respect good planning, not penalize it.” -David Price
