may-2017

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AT A GLANCE
wellington,
florida
WHAT: Wellington, Florida
WHERE: A village just west of
West Palm Beach, in Palm Beach
County, Florida
WEBSITE
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