Picture a Saturday at Citrus Ridge. You head out early for a walk on the Lake Wailes Trail, grab breakfast downtown, and by midmorning you’re strolling the gardens at Bok Tower, listening to the carillon play at 1. You could do all of that without driving more than about 10 minutes from home.

Citrus Ridge is a new neighborhood of single family homes off Buck Moore Road on the east side of Lake Wales. It’s small, with about 100 homesites. It sits inside the city limits, and it’s marketed with no CDD fees, which is getting harder to find in Central Florida. Homes are going up now and some have already sold.

Where Citrus Ridge Is

Citrus Ridge is on the west side of Buck Moore Road, about a mile north of SR 60. The homes line Cascade Circle, which loops off Buck Moore Road. Buck Moore Road (county road 17B) runs north from SR 60 up to Burns Avenue, so you have an easy way out in both directions. Head south and you’re on SR 60 in about two minutes. Head north and Burns Avenue takes you over toward US 27 and Bok Tower.

Polk County plat records show the neighborhood as Citrus Ridge of Lake Wales. The plat was recorded in October 2025 and covers about 24 acres. Most of the homesites measure about 50 by 120 feet, or roughly 6,000 square feet, with a handful of wider corner and end lots. The mailing addresses use ZIP code 33853.

What Living Here Is Like

This part of Lake Wales feels like a real small town. Older homes and churches line Buck Moore Road, and the neighborhoods around Lake Wailes are just to the west. East of the neighborhood you’ll find the golf course and homes around Lake Wales Country Club. It’s quiet, but everyday errands are close. You’re not out in the middle of nowhere.

Drive times from the middle of the neighborhood are rough, measured without traffic on today’s roads.

• SR 60 at Buck Moore Road: under a mile, about 2 minutes
• Walmart Supercenter on SR 60: about 3 minutes
• AdventHealth Lake Wales hospital: about 3 minutes
• Lake Wales Country Club: about 5 minutes
• Lake Wailes Park: about 2.4 miles, 6 minutes
• Downtown Lake Wales: about 3 miles, 7 minutes
• US 27 at SR 60: about 8 minutes
• Bok Tower Gardens: about 3 miles, 10 minutes
• Eagle Ridge Mall area: about 13 minutes
• LEGOLAND Florida: about 22 minutes
• Downtown Winter Haven: about 29 minutes
• Downtown Lakeland: about 46 minutes

Bok Tower Gardens

Bok Tower is the landmark everyone in Lake Wales knows. The 205 foot Singing Tower is built of pink and gray marble and coquina, and it houses a 60 bell carillon. The gardens around it are a National Historic Landmark, dedicated by President Calvin Coolidge in 1929. Bok Tower Gardens holds carillon concerts daily at 1 and 3, with shorter selections on the hour and half hour. The gardens suggest planning three to four hours, and well behaved dogs on a leash are welcome on the grounds. Marketing for Citrus Ridge mentions views of the tower from the neighborhood. Whether you can see it from a particular lot depends on the lot and the trees, so ask us before you count on a view.

Lake Wailes and the Trail

Lake Wailes is the lake the city grew up around, and it’s about 6 minutes away. The city’s Lake Wailes Trail is a 2.5 mile paved and lighted hike and bike path along the shoreline, with parking at several spots on Lake Shore Boulevard. There’s also a fishing pier and a boat ramp. Evening walks here are a local habit. In summer, go early or after sunset and bring water.

Downtown Lake Wales

Downtown is about 7 minutes away and still has its 1920s bones. The Lake Wales History Museum is in the restored 1928 Atlantic Coast Line depot on Scenic Highway, and the city keeps a guide to its downtown murals, including a huge painted scene of downtown as it looked in the late 1920s. Add the local restaurants and shops, and you’ve got an easy Saturday. Spook Hill, the spot where cars seem to roll uphill, is a fun stop to show visiting family.

Shopping, Health Care and Schools

For groceries and errands, the SR 60 corridor just south of the neighborhood has a Walmart Supercenter and restaurants, with more shopping up US 27 around Eagle Ridge Mall. AdventHealth Lake Wales, the hospital on South 11th Street, is only a few minutes away.

Schools in Lake Wales work a little differently than the rest of Polk County because the city has its own charter school system. The Polk County Public Schools GeoZone map for the 2026 to 2027 school year places Citrus Ridge in the Lake Wales charter zones for Hillcrest Elementary and Lake Wales High School. The district’s regular zone layers show Spook Hill Elementary and McLaughlin for middle school. Zones can change, so check your exact address with the Polk County school zone tools, or let us look it up for you.

Parks and Weekends

Beyond Lake Wailes, you have Lake Kissimmee State Park east of town for hiking, paddling and wildlife. Plan on about 45 to 50 minutes since the park road is long. LEGOLAND Florida in Winter Haven is about 22 minutes away if you have kids.

Getting to Orlando, Tampa and Winter Haven

Lake Wales sits right in the middle of the state, and Citrus Ridge is well placed for getting out of town.

Winter Haven and Lakeland. Winter Haven is about 17 miles and roughly 30 minutes by way of US 27 and SR 540. Lakeland is about 31 miles, around 45 minutes.

Orlando. Most drives north start with a short hop over to US 27, then about 20 miles up to I 4. Downtown Orlando is about 55 miles, roughly 75 to 80 minutes without traffic. Magic Kingdom is about 42 miles, a little over an hour. Orlando International Airport is about 80 minutes.

Tampa. For Tampa you take SR 60 west through Bartow. Downtown Tampa is about 59 miles and roughly 85 minutes without traffic, and Tampa International is closer to an hour and a half.

Those are free flow times, so plan for more at rush hour. If you commute daily to Orlando or Tampa, test drive the route at the time you’d actually be on the road.

What Else Is Coming to Buck Moore Road

Citrus Ridge isn’t the only new neighborhood on this side of town. Plat records show Robins Run just south along Buck Moore Road and Robins Walk nearby, and a larger project called Iron Mountain has been in the works on about 77 acres north of Burns Avenue. Its original plan called for about 520 homes, townhomes and apartments. The city approved a plat amendment in August 2026, but no development plans had been submitted as of the last report. South of SR 60, the city approved the Hunts Bros project in 2026, which calls for single family homes, townhomes and apartments on 164 acres east of Hunt Brothers Road. Plans like these can change or stall, so take them as possibilities, not promises.

We’ve covered other parts of town too, including our overview of living in Lake Wales, Hunt Club Groves off SR 60, new homes in the country club area, and the bigger developments planned around Lake Wales.

The Homes

Citrus Ridge is all single family homes, with six floor plans from about 1,250 to 2,104 square feet. Every plan has a two car garage. The layouts are open, with the kitchen, dining area and great room flowing together, and the owner’s suite set apart from the other bedrooms in the plans we reviewed. Colors and finishes come from preselected design packages, which keeps things simple if you don’t want to spend weeks picking tile.

Here’s how the plans break down.

• About 1,250 square feet, 3 bedrooms, 2 baths
• About 1,443 square feet, 3 bedrooms, 2 baths
• About 1,525 square feet, 3 bedrooms, 2 baths
• About 1,802 square feet, 4 bedrooms, 2 baths
• About 2,087 square feet, 4 bedrooms, 3 baths, with a private suite
• About 2,104 square feet, 4 bedrooms, 2 baths

The 2,087 square foot plan is the one to look at if you have parents moving in or a grown kid at home. It has a separate suite with its own bedroom, full bath, small living area and a kitchenette with space for a microwave, dishwasher and refrigerator. The owner’s suite is on the opposite side of the house.

We haven’t seen any published community amenities such as a pool or clubhouse. With about 100 homes, think of it as a quiet street neighborhood, and use Lake Wailes and the city parks as your backyard.

Pricing, Fees and Taxes

Prices change often in new construction, sometimes week to week, so treat these as a snapshot from September 28, 2026.

Published base pricing ran from $266,490 to $344,990.

• 1,250 square feet: from $266,490
• 1,525 square feet: from $267,490
• 1,443 square feet: from $297,990
• 1,802 square feet: from $314,990
• 2,104 square feet: from $327,990
• 2,087 square feet with the private suite: from $344,990

On that date, two homes were listed. A finished 1,525 square foot, 3 bedroom home was listed at $267,490, and a 1,250 square foot home under construction was listed at $266,490. One advertised headline price still read “from the $280s,” so pricing has moved around this year. Ask us what’s current before you set your budget.

CDD. Citrus Ridge is marketed with no CDD, which can keep your yearly costs lower than in many newer Polk County neighborhoods.

HOA. There is a homeowners association. County records show it owns the common areas. We haven’t seen published monthly dues, so ask us and we’ll get the current number.

Property taxes. Polk County property data lists these lots at a total of about 20.1 mills, which includes city taxes because the neighborhood is inside Lake Wales. For a rough idea, that’s about $2,000 a year for every $100,000 of taxable value, before exemptions like homestead. Your actual bill depends on the assessed value of the finished home.

Citrus Ridge gives you a new home at an entry level price, no CDD, and a location a few minutes from Bok Tower, Lake Wailes and downtown Lake Wales. Contact our buyers agents at Lake Wales New Homes and we’ll send you current pricing, available homes and lots, HOA dues, and the latest on what’s coming along Buck Moore Road.

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