Shopping Center 1: Eagle’s Nest 0

When the Eagle Ridge Mall in Lake Wales, Florida was initially concieved 14 years ago it was to be built so far north of the city limits the working name was The Shoppes of Winter Haven, referring to a city equi-distant to the west.

This so infuriated the Lake Wales Chamber of Commerce that ultimately a contest would be conducted to allow the public to name the new shopping complex, which today is a part of, and has been annexed by, Lake Wales. The name Eagle Ridge was the winning entry for the following reasons:

The word ridge is from the fact that the site lies on a narrow geological rise that runs north/south through the center of the peninsula from just north of Clermont to just south of Frostproof. Lake Wales refers to itself as The Crown Jewel Of The Ridge.

The city is situated on the highest point of this ridge where Iron Mountain is located–the site of Bok Tower–rising an ear-popping 322 feet above sea level.

The eagle half of the center’s name is a bit more sinister. In Florida there existed an environmental rule that no development could occur within a 2500 foot radius of an active eagle’s nest. You’re getting ahead of me. Yes, there it was, well within the restricted boundary, a dead yellow pine tree with an active aerie atop.

Quandary! Work stopped. Heads were scratched. Lawyers were summoned. What to do?

Then one morning the most peculiar event greeted passersby. The big dead yellow pine tree with the active eagle’s nest had mysteriously toppled over. Problem solved.

Environmentalists were devastated. There had been no windstorm in the area that previous night. However, no bulldozer tracks were found at the scene as I documented as a reporter for The Lake Wales News although I was not granted permission to enter the property.

Construction began and a wonderful retail facility was created, although not without another prank from Mother Nature. Part of the site was over unstable ground and a sinkhole developed beneath a major anchor department store which required mitigation.

The mall remains open today with reduced tenancy while the parent company deals with the bankruptcy courts. The environs have become home to dozens of sandhill cranes who enjoy nesting on the banks of the adjoining retention ponds. Ever watchful of the alligators which have also taken up residence there, the chicks thrive except for those that become easy targets for motorists with high-powered pellet guns. Others seem to believe aiming their vehicles at them is more fun than observing their stately movements as they cross traffic lanes.

Back to the eagles which, by the way, departed for parts unknown–sometimes I think we tend to be a bit too helpful in our efforts to protect wildlife from its worst enemy–us. I can’t help wondering if that 2500 foot rule had been relaxed somewhat that pine tree might not have fallen.

The southern bald eagle, a smaller sub-species of the American bald eagle, this nation’s symbol, is easily urbanized. I think the pair would have acclimated to the bustle of the mall as easily as the heavy traffic noise on U.S. 27 nearby. Of course, old dead trees do fall naturally and this may be what happened there…conveniently.