The City of Troy will hold the first of a series of public meetings Thursday to begin working on a 10-year downtown revitalization plan. The kickoff meeting will be held at The Studio at 5 p.m.

A $40,000 Community Development Block Grant, plus $10,000 contributed by the City of Troy, made the plan possible.

“Downtown is the heart of the city,” said Melissa Sanders, Troy planning and zoning administrator. “If the heart dies, the body can’t live. It’s where the city started, and it’s where the city lives. [U.S. Highway] 231 is great, but downtown is what makes us unique.”

Sanders said that officials at the meeting will release the findings of studies that seek to increase access from Troy University to downtown before opening the floor for public comment.

“Public participation is vital,” Sanders said. “We don’t want this to be the vision of one person. We need a unified vision.”

The plan focuses on the “downtown core,” which Sanders said is more than just the Square.

“When people think of downtown, they automatically think of the Square,” she said. “But downtown is also the blocks surrounding the Square. This plan will focus on the whole downtown core and the corridors that lead into downtown.”

The plan is not a single project, as Sanders said one project cannot revitalize downtown. Instead, the plan will consist of a series of projects and initiatives that Sanders said is vital to build a stronger community and to create lasting progress.

After Thursday’s kickoff meeting, the next meeting is scheduled for July 7 at The Studio at 5 p.m. and is described as a workshop and open studio. Meetings are scheduled throughout the summer and into the fall.

The public can get involved by attending the public meetings and by answering polls about what businesses, aesthetics improvements, amenities and more are most important to revitalizing downtown. The polls, meeting schedule and other general information about the plan can be found at www.troyal.gov/planDT. For more information or to request language assistance, American Sign Language interpretation, assistive listening devices, or other accessibility accommodations, contact Melissa Sanders at (334) 566-0177.