Wellington_web

AT A GLANCE WELLINGTON, FLORIDA WHAT: Wellington, Florida WHERE: A village just west of West Palm Beach, in Palm Beach County, Florida WEBSITE: www.wellingtonfl.gov WELLINGTON, FLORIDA Planning Zoning and Building Director. “It’s an industry that is growing; the Festival started more than 20 years ago as a two or three-week event that has now turned into 12 weeks and is expanding beyond that. Right now, there are probably 13,000 or more horses that we’re seeing travel into the Village on a regular basis as we go through the season. It’s a major compo- nent to the Village’s identity as well as a major component to our economic life.” Another major component of Wellington’s economy is its Medical District. “We have three hospitals within our region,” says O’Dell. “One is the Wellington Regional Medical Center, which is within our boundaries. The Bethesda Hospital is the latest addition to our south, and Palms West Hospital is just to our north.What we’re seeing with those three hospitals within our region is a bit of a medical hub develop- ing around us.Wellington has office space and we’re seeing it converted to medical space and we’re seeing specialists and other medical related practices moving into this area, filling that gap between the three hos- pitals. So, although we lack a major employ- er in our area, the medical industry is one of those areas that is growing in the Village.” In 1996,Wellington announced its first Strategic Plan, updated in 2007 and again in 2012.While the Village is intent on ex- panding its range and number of local busi- nesses, as well as attracting new residents, O’Dell maintains that keeping its hometown character is a key element of the Plan’s fun- damentals, principles, and initiatives. “We’re a great family community and we’re trying to maintain that persona,” he states. “We recog- nize that growth is going to happen around us and, in fact, is happening, and we’re going to be competitive in that marketplace. So, when a family looks to relocate, they con- sider Wellington as one of their top picks in this area.We’re going to re-invent ourselves a little bit, but we’ll stick with the idea of be- ing a village –not a major city or any kind of major metropolitan area; we want to retain that hometown feeling.” Assistant City Manager, Jim Barnes, agrees. “At the end of the day, we’re still a subur- ban community and we’re not going to be a downtown urban center,” he says. “One of our biggest economic drivers is the appeal that