$1.4 million spruce up ahead for Cherokee Street

New sidewalks, lighting, benches planned



By Jim Merkel

Wednesday, October 17, 2007 6:55 AM CDT



From the 1930s to the 1970s, shoppers swarmed to Cherokee Street, crowding into stores ranging from J.C. Penney to hat shops to furniture stores.



Now merchants along a stretch west of Jefferson Avenue hope a $1.4 million spruce up will be just the thing to bring that old vibrancy back and start cash registers ringing.



The allocation of $1.4 million for improvements to the street from Jefferson to Nebraska Avenue was approved Friday by the Board of Aldermen. The bill was sponsored by Alderman Craig Schmid, D-20th Ward, and Alderman Ken Ortmann, D-9th Ward, who represent that area of Cherokee.



The funds include $1,106,000 in federal highway money and $294,000 from the city from a half-cent sales tax for capital improvements allocated to Ortmann and Schmid for their wards.



The federal money, used to enhance transportation corridors, comes from the same program used for improvements on South Grand Boulevard between Arsenal Street and Interstate 44.



"It's something that's been talked about for a long time now," said Jason Deem, president of the Cherokee Station Business Association, which represents merchants on the street. "It would be a great benefit to Cherokee."