TYLER, Texas — The city of Tyler is looking to help shape the future of their downtown area in collaboration with the Smith County Commissioners Court. City and county leaders are set to host a joint meeting about possible changes for the area on Wednesday.
City Manager Ed Broussard said they are looking at a complete redesign of the downtown square that will include changes to the streets, sidewalks and possibly more. He said this is in an effort to make it more inviting to families and visitors of Tyler.
The city shared two renderings of what they expect the new changes to look like.
"The square you see today is going to be drastically different once we're done with the renovations," Broussard said.
The city council will host a special meeting Wednesday along with Smith County commissioners to present the renovation proposal and offer a joint construction effort between the new Smith County Courthouse and changes to the downtown square.
"So marrying all those different plans together and making sure that we've got full approval on those before we start getting ready to begin construction on different components of that," Broussard said.
The city manager said the plan isn’t fully drawn out yet, but he said the proposal could widen the sidewalk area on the square and turn the one-way traffic surrounding it into two-way streets. Broussard also mentioned this revitalization project proposal would be funded by a private company and city taxpayer money.
This revitalization of the square does raise concern for Lance McWhorter, owner of the nearby restaurant Culture ETX.
"I lived in Bishop Arts in Dallas for a long time and one of the big things is when they revitalize that area it pretty much shut down a lot of people that were already there and made way for the new," McWhorter said. "So hopefully that doesn't happen. We like being down here, we like being downtown, we certainly don't want to go anywhere."
Broussard said that is a concern they are taking into consideration when creating this project proposal.
"That's something we're very mindful of," Broussard said. "How do we phase this through so that those businesses aren't adversely impacted in a major way as we begin the construction? Because it will be a massive construction site for a number of years all the way from one end of the square to the other end."
Another raised question on the redesign is what is going to happen to the memorials that showcase veterans and honor fallen peace officers.
"Part of what we're trying to do with the square property is to be able to provide something for the different events as well as for people's enjoyment," Broussard said. "Where they are not taking for granted those memorials that are there."
He said the city plans to have a different location that they are considering for the memorials and plan to include that in the proposal. Broussard also wants to make it clear that the city hopes to finalize these changes with the county and ensure local businesses aren’t heavily impacted by the construction.
"Hopefully, we can have some input on any closures or anything like that," McWhorter said. "Because the way things are right now, a lot of us in the restaurant business are one bad week away from closing the doors. It's a tough environment right now."
This proposal is still in the early stages and a budget has not yet been determined. The meeting will be held Wednesday at 10 a.m. at the Smith County Commissioners Court. A public forum will be open for residents to express any concerns.