Minnesota highways aren't the only ones getting a makeover this summer. Brooklyn Center has the road crews out, too.

Last April, the city kicked off its Bass Lake Road Streetscape and Regional Trail Project. The plan is to spruce up the length of Bass Lake Road from Brooklyn Boulevard to Hwy. 100.

Highlights of the project include building a pedestrian bridge and improving water quality by creating a nontraditional median design to filter and treat water that usually runs off into Shingle Creek, said Steve Lillehaug, Brooklyn Center's director of public works. There's an aesthetic element, as well. Planners want to snazz up the landscaping, install a pedestrian plaza and benches, paint the concrete, and improve the lighting. City officials hope the facelift will lead to other improvements in the area .

"There is certainly an appeal that if you build good things then other good things will come around it," Lillehaug said. "It's really to draw good developers to the city and to encourage existing property owners to keep up their properties. We definitely have vacant properties through that corridor."

The project, with a pricetag of $4.2 million, is slated for completion in October.

Planning for the makeover began last winter. Brooklyn Center was awarded a $2 million federal grant under the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act of 2009. Hennepin County contributed about $400,000, and the Three Rivers Park District kicked in another $350,000 toward the regional trail and a new pedestrian bridge over Shingle Creek, said Lillehaug. The city will pick up the rest of the tab.

A makeover has been on Mayor Tim Willson's mind for some time and he helped come up with the idea for the Bass Lake Road Streetscape and Regional Trail Project.

"When I originally ran for office four years ago, I ran for redevelopment and to rejuvenate our city," Willson said. This works right into that."

The city has also replaced sewer pipes and curbs and gutters over the last several years. All this improvement work might already be paying dividends. Brooklyn Center will host a formal ground-breaking ceremony, most likely in September, for a new 173,000-square-foot regional Federal Bureau of Investigation facility, said Gary Eitel, director of business and development. The building will replace the current site in Minneapolis and will be considerably larger, Eitel said.

"We wanted this type of employment and redevelopment to occur in the community," said Eitel. "I think this will possibly generate further redevelopment opportunities."

If the mayor has his way, redevelopment plans won't stop with the Bass Lake Road project. It will be just one of many steps the city plans to take as it continues to make itself a desirable location for visitors and developers.

"I see the city going forward," Willson said. "There are a number of properties to work on. We're just waiting for the economy to improve."

Hannah Gruber • 612-673-4864