Downtown Winter Haven is continuing to a major renewal. Local businesses have invested millions of dollars in renovating older buildings and the city is investing as well. 

Construction crews are in the middle of a $4.5 million upgrade of downtown's South Central Park. It will include dozens of additional parking spaces.  

A few blocks away, Steve and Becky Coscia invested big in converting the old New Chief newspaper building into an events venue called Venue 650. It can hold hundreds of people and already has a number of weddings booked. 

The couple has lived in Winter Haven for more than 40 years and believes the downtown area is a great place to invest. 

"Yes. Absolutely. Yes. I believe in the people here, in the community. There's some wonderful people here," Becky said. 

The Coscias have also converted an eyesore old gas station building into a hip office space. Other developers are planning to convert a long vacant office building into a brand name boutique hotel. The Six/Ten corporation is planning several central Winter Haven apartment complexes. 

Arabella's Restaurant owner Franco Basalone is converting a nearby vacant building into a fancy pool hall. He is looking forward to all the progress in downtown. 

"Yes. I can't wait," he said. 

The rebirth of downtown Winter Haven is well underway. The new park should be finished sometime this fall.