GENEVA – The City of Geneva has gotten a spruced-up look.
From newly planted trees to a cozy little pocket park, Phase I of the downtown streetscape project has been adding fresh touches throughout the town.
City Manager Joseph Varckette has been impressed with all the work.
“I think it’s really looking nice, and it’s really coming together,” Varckette told Geneva City Council at its April 13th meeting.
He commended the contractor, Perk Construction, who he said is ahead of schedule and should be done by the end of the month.
“The contractor has made great progress on all aspects of the project,” Varckette wrote in his report to council.
The project, funded with money through the Appalachian Community Grant Program (ACGP), began last Fall.
The work included improvements in the parking area behind the Geneva Community Center as well as the installation of a curved walkway to Rotary Pavilion and the placing of benches along the walkway
This Spring, the work picked back up with the replacement of the sidewalk on the east side of South Broadway, from Eastwood up to Erie Street.
According to Varckette, however, it’s not just concrete sidewalk, but rather an extension of the existing brick and mural-stamped concrete sidewalk in town.
“They’re pretty much done with that portion,” Varckette told council at its April 13th meeting. He said some brickwork remained.
The project has also included the creation of a new pocket park at East Main and South Forest streets.
“That’s mostly done,” Varckette said.
In addition, Varckette noted that the contractor has done most of the landscaping and tree planting throughout the project area, including in the parking lot of the Community Center.
“They got a lot of the landscaping in, which I thought is turning out really, really nice,” Varckette told council.
The streetscape work was made possible as a result of an award of $2,621,152 in ACGP funding that the city received in 2024 for Downtown Geneva Revitalization.
The ACGP streetscape project also includes a Phase II, which will see improvements in the Depot Street area.
“It’s reconstructing the parking lot along Depot Street and includes the construction of a bioswale that will run along Depot Street,” Varckette said in explaining the scope of the Phase II project.
In addition, there is a separate storm water project at that location that is funded in part by CDBG funds, but is still considered a part of the overall streetscape Phase II project, he noted.
A façade, or storefront improvement, project will also be taking place in addition to the streetscape work.
