The City of Troy had planned to present a draft of the Downtown Plan to the planning commission Thursday, but will instead hold a meeting that goes over a preliminary design and façade study.

The study was originally scheduled for discussion at the last meeting, but officials had to cut it out of the presentation due to time constraints.

Planning and Zoning administrator Melissa Sanders said that pushing the timeline back is actually a good thing.

“We have decided to push the Downtown Plan timeline back a month due to the amazing input from everyone,” Sanders said. “We wanted to give each idea, concept, and suggestion ample consideration for the plan so that it is the best representation of our City, our Downtown, and our residents.”

Sanders said that a $390,000 TAP grant received by the city to restructure the sidewalks in the area surrounding the downtown square could provide an incentive for businesses in the area to get on board with improvements.

The grant will be used to beautify the sidewalks as well as making them ADA compliant. In addition to replacing damaged sidewalks with new walkways, trees and handrails will also be implemented in the project. The city is looking to have the project approved by the Alabama Department of Transportation soon so that it can be put up for bid in the Fall.

The first downtown planning meeting was held in early June and provided the raw data necessary to make informed strategy decisions moving forward. The second meeting was a workshop in which the residents had the floor to discuss the kinds of improvements they would most like to see. The session included splitting attendees into five groups to focus on five different criteria for a thriving downtown and allowing residents to place votes on their favorite examples of downtown amenities and styling.

Thursday’s meeting will be held at 4 p.m. in the chambers of City Hall. For more information, go to www.troyal.gov/planDT or contact Melissa Sanders at (334) 670-6058.