DOUGLAS, Ariz. (KGUN) — The City of Douglas is seeking public comment on the design of its downtown revitalization project.

The project first started in 2021 but was canceled due to requests for design changes and lack of funding due to COVID. Mayor Donald Huish said he hopes to fund the project with a grant and $1.2 million from the COVID Relief Fund issued by the Biden administration in 2021. The cost of the streets will range from $2.8 million to $4 million. dollar.

Douglas hosts a poll to select the designs that the public likes the most. However, locals noted that the survey did not have an option for ‘none of the above’ and no place for additional comments.

Three designs show improvements in road and sidewalk infrastructure. G Avenue, from 9th Avenue to 12th Avenue, will be narrowed to allow for wider sidewalks. Huish said the sidewalk expansion will allow restaurants to have outdoor seating and businesses to sell their products outdoors.

The mayor said, “More than anything else, I want to make it a place that people can be proud of again. I want it to be a place of relaxation.”

Downtown business owners aren’t sold by design. Eric Braverman, owner of the Last Supper Museum, and Tonya Duarte, manager of the Gadsden Hotel, have agreed to use the money to preserve the current building and keep the streets and sidewalks safe. increase.

“Look at these beautiful buildings,” Braverman said. Work with city owners. Instead of doing something fancy that no one wants. ”

According to Duarte, several designs have already been rejected for being too modern. She says her community wants to preserve the history of her area downtown.

“We really need to market it as a historic area. This is known as a historic district, so I don’t think it should be something that has been modernized.”

Douglas City Council members Jose Grijalva and Danya Acosta, who have heard from business owners and others about their concerns about the pending project, have passed the message on to city officials. They share the same concerns with the community when it comes to spending too much money on one project instead of making downtown safer.

“We do what makes sense: fix the sidewalks, fix the roads, talk about what G Avenue looks like,” Grijalva said. Not only are the sidewalks picked up. It doesn’t care about our community. ”

The three blocks to be upgraded are in Acosta’s ward, which is a benefit to her ward, but is not fully supported by the community and does not embrace the historic nature of the area, which made her skeptical about the project. I have mixed feelings.

Huish hopes construction can begin in early 2024. Grijalva said the timing could be seen as “political” by the public as next year is an election year.

Related: The Forgotten History of Douglas Airport