The City of Luverne will soon see some much-anticipated changes, according to Luverne Mayor Joe Rex Sport.

The mayor said that the Downtown Revitalization Project would be underway starting approximately April 1.

&#8220Caldwell Corporation out of Montgomery will be the contractors for the project,” Sport said. &#8220They have done several similar projects throughout the state, and they recently completed a similar project in Prattville.”

The mayor said that the cost for the renovations would be approximately $770,000, which will be funded by a grant from the Alabama Department of Economic and Community Affairs, in conjunction with federal appropriation grants and local matching funds.

&#8220The city will begin removing the old awnings along the main street within the next few days,” he said.

In addition to improvements in the sidewalks, Sport said that there would be street lighting improvements with the possibility of some new streetlights installed. Also, there will be planters and new shrubbery planted downtown and improvements made to the sewer and storm drainage facilities. Water line upgrades in the downtown area will also be done.

&#8220We've had a few problems with standing water during heavy downpours in a few places, so the improvements to the storm drainage system should alleviate those problems.”

The parking lot across from Family Dollar would be repaved and enlarged. The main street downtown itself from South Forest Avenue to 6th Street will also be repaved, plus, new curbing will be put in place from 3rd Street to 6th Street.

&#8220The sidewalks will be narrowed some to make room for the new planters,” Sport said. &#8220And, there will be brick borders lining up against the buildings and along the edge of the sidewalks.”

New handicapped ramps will be installed including metal railings on the higher elevated sidewalks in front of Welch's and the Industrial Development office.