El Centro looks to revitalize its downtown area
New colors and facades factor into the rebranding - Wiley Jawhary reports
EL CENTRO, Calif. (KYMA, KECY) - With paint hanging onto dear life around the city, the El Centro city council earmarked $125,000 of Measure P funds to improve downtown. The facade improvement program aims to give business owners financial opportunity for helping them renew their buildings.
Adriana Nava has been the city community services director for two years, she mentions the importance of art in this project.
“We will be painting the exterior of facades and also including art, we are investing more in public art and bringing more to our communities," she said.
The reason the city wants to use art other than the vibrant look it'll give buildings, is because murals are less likely to get vandalized. Nava adds that this program is especially unique because vacant store fronts may also benefit.
“Some windows that we have on our vacant store fronts, we would include art on those as well. We are looking for artists right now who want to work with us on incorporating art in the downtown area," she said.
Wiley Jawhary gives us a sneak peek at plans for Downtown El Centro's redevelopment:
The application process just became available. Ernie Quintero is a local business owner who plans on taking advantage of this program. He talks about some of the improvements he will need for his own business.
“Definitely some improvement on our ceiling on the inside, and we would apply for new signage as well,” he said.
Nava mentions that the city has more plans on the way to help renew the scenery. This includes refreshing town square and entry points; even changing out the flags in the downtown area. Additionally the city is working with law enforcement to facilitate proper protection between local business owners.
“We understand our downtown has different issues associated with it, so as a community we are working together to solve some of those issues to have a more vibrant downtown," Nava said.
If you start to see more murals around the El Centro area, it’s because that's part of the city’s plan in bringing a new look to downtown.
