NORTHAMPTON — About a year from the start of a complete redesign of downtown dubbed Picture Main Street, the city has secured funding to hire a consultant to come up with ways to ease the impact of construction on businesses, residents and visitors.

Officials expect to use a $25,000 grant from the state’s Downtown Initiative Program to hire experts to assist with the mitigation efforts — an initiative called “Pardon Our Progress,” or POP. The POP campaign, established in March, will attempt to offer a “seamless and positive experience” leading up to the completion of the $22 million restoration project being funded with state and federal dollars.

As part of the planning process, the city formed a downtown redesign construction mitigation campaign in collaboration with the Greater Northampton Area Chamber of Commerce, the Downtown Northampton Association, local business leaders and others.

It is unclear what the consulting agency will recommend to mitigate impact during the process, city officials said.

“This award is a significant step forward for POP’s mission to enhance and sustain the vitality of our downtown during this transformative time,” Mayor Gina-Louise Sciarra said in a statement.

Picture Main Street envisions reducing traffic to one lane in each direction while adding a bike lane and expanding sidewalk space for downtown. The project also calls for replacing sewer, water and stormwater infrastructure, currently more than 100 years old.

The proposed redesign of Main Street has drawn controversy over the last several years, with most of the concerns coming from downtown businesses – many still wary from the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic – worried about how the change will affect their bottom line.

City officials have cited redesigns in other similar-sized cities, such as Concord, New Hampshire, as successful models that the city wishes to emulate. In Concord, the redesign of the city’s main street was also accompanied with a public relations campaign aimed at promoting downtown businesses during the construction phase.

The project is scheduled to begin in fall 2025, and reach full-scale construction beginning in January 2026.

Residents and others can receive updates and stay connected with the latest news from POP by texting ‘PROGRESS’ to 99411. The service will provide alerts, updates and construction announcements leading up to and throughout the construction process.

Samuel Gelinas can be reached at sgelinas@gazettenet.com