Avon Park Lakes (APL) is a residential community of about 2,500 people in northwest
Highlands County, Florida
Highlands County is a county located in the Florida Heartland region of the U.S. state of Florida. As of the 2020 census, the population was 101,235. Its county seat is Sebring.
Highlands County comprises the Sebring-Avon Park, FL Metropolita ...
. It is bounded by
Polk County, Florida, on the north and
Hardee County, Florida
Hardee County is a county located in the Florida Heartland, Central Florida region U.S. state of Florida. As of the 2020 census, the population was 25,327. Its county seat is Wauchula.
Hardee County comprises the Wauchula, FL Micropolitan St ...
, on the west. On the northeast it is bounded by
Lake Adelaide. The development, roughly "C" shaped, reaches to the south a block north of
State Road 64 and nearly to the northeast of
U.S. Route 27. It is bordered along the middle of the "C" by the city limits of
Avon Park, Florida
Avon Park is a city in Highlands County, Florida, United States. As of the 2010 census the population was 8,836, and in 2018 the estimated population was 10,695. It is the oldest city in Highlands County, and was named after Stratford-upon-Avon, ...
. Avon Park Lakes is unincorporated, but has a homeowners association, the Avon Park Lakes Association.
The development almost surrounds
Lake Olivia
Lake Olivia is an freshwater lake located within the Avon Park Lakes subdivision in northwest Highlands County, Florida. It is to the northwest of the incorporated city of Avon Park. Maximum depth is about , with a fairly steep contour to the ...
, which is a lake and park, and it surrounds
Lake Chilton. Lake Olivia is completely outside the development, while Lake Chilton is included in it. There is a clubhouse on the south side of Lake Olivia, owned by the Avon Park Lakes Association (the development's homeowner association). No commercial developments are in the boundaries of APL. One church, World Harvest & Restoration Ministries, is inside APL. Another, Iglesia Cristo te Ama, has part of its property inside APL, although the church building is just outside the development. Avon Park Lakes Baptist Church is just outside the extreme eastern edge of the development. This Baptist church got its beginnings inside APL, meeting at the clubhouse before moving to its current location. In 2014 Bread for Life Ministries began meeting Sundays in the clubhouse; this church plans to build at a location south of downtown Avon Park. Other churches associated with APL have come and gone.
The subdivision began in 1956 and grew for almost a decade. It began growing at a quick rate in 1973 and only stopped growing a few years after the real estate crash of 2007-8. Then, probably for the first time in its history, came a slight migration away from the area.
[Pollard, pp. 53-5.]
References
{{coord, 27, 37, 42, N, 81, 32, 54, W, type:city_region:US-FL_source:GNIS-enwiki, display=title
Geography of Highlands County, Florida
1956 establishments in Florida
Populated places established in 1956