CENTER BRINGS WELLNESS TO WEST LAKES COMMUNITY

Orlando nonprofit Lift Orlando hosted a beautiful ribbon-cutting celebration for its Heart of West Lakes Wellness Center. The $13.5M, 30,000-square-foot health and wellness center is located on 3.8 acres at 710. S. Tampa Ave — just outside of downtown Orlando in The Communities of West Lakes. It features first-class amenities including Legacy Café and gathering spaces, a Financial Wellbeing Center, Florida Blue Center Orlando West Lakes, and outdoor green spaces. The second floor will feature an approximately 8,000-squarefoot healthcare center operated by Community Health Centers, Inc.

“Everyone is working together for the people. You can’t find this anywhere in the nation — where big conglomerates work together for the people,” said Rich Black, the president of Lake Sunset Homeowners Association and the publisher of ONYX Magazine. Terry Prather, senior advisor at Life Orlando echoed the sentiment. “None of this happens without a million miracles aligning.”

Lift Orlando's state-of-the-art center will officially open in early spring 2023. The facility will provide muchneeded resources to Orlando’s 32805 ZIP Code after decades of disinvestment and offer residents holistic health, financial, and wellness services currently not accessible to the community. The center will provide 40 full-time equivalent positions. The facility is owned by West Lakes HWC, Inc., a nonprofit supporting organization of Lift Orlando.

“Today is just the beginning of a series of celebrations. This place was first and foremost for and about the residents of our community. We want it to be a neighborhood's living room,” said Eddy Moratin, the president of Lift Orlando.