Story by Erica Tinsley

Two local Las Crucens will soon be able to walk the entire downtown Main Street. (Photo by Erica Tinsley)

Shortly after the opening of new city hall, the city will undertake a new project within the heart of the city – continuing to work on reopening Main Street.

The New Mexico Department of Finance and Administration agreed to give the City of Las Cruces $830,000 to finish remodeling downtown Main Street from Las Cruces Avenue north to Mountain Avenue. The state funding had been frozen since October 2009.

The news of the reopening of downtown Main Street brought smiles to some of the downtown business owners.

Positive reactions

The construction will be done from Las Cruces Avenue, north to Mountain Avenue on Main Street. (Photo by Erica Tinsley)

“I’m very excited! It’s been a long time coming – a lot of people have worked very hard to make this happen,” said Michael Beckett, owner of Coas Bookstore. Beckett said although the construction may cause problems in customers’ access to the store, he has nothing but positive feelings about the decisions being made in restoring this part of Main Street.

Jim Turrentine, owner of the Big Picture, said he believes this is also good for the community. Currently, many events are held in the downtown Main Street area, and Turrentine predicts the remodeling of the rest of Main Street will bring even more activities that will draw more people.

“This will kind of become what it used to be in the old days, which was the center of town,” Turrentine said.

One of the Main Street Downtown signs marks a renovated area. (Photo by Erica Tinsley)

Beckett agrees that the revitalization will also bring more life to downtown.

“There will be bookstores and restaurants and ice cream and everything else. It’s the start of something good,”  Beckett said.

Officials said the reopening of this part of Main Street will cost approximately $1.5 million including the state funding. Construction may start within four  weeks.