Ypsilanti’s downtown and Depot Town are in line for a few facelifts as the business districts' not-quite-ready-for-prime-time players prepare for the limelight.

The five businesses will use a $50,000 state grant to remove ugly faux facades and restore their building's original look. The projects include:

• Corner Health Center in downtown is expanding into an adjacent storefront. It will restore the new space, both inside and out, to its original character.
• The Riverside Arts Center in Depot Town will use its $10,000 to continue renovations of the former DTE building.
• 2022 N Huron will be remodeled into a motorsports photography studio. The project includes removing an old facade that didn’t fit the original stature of the building.
• Puffer Reds in downtown is expanding into a new space and removing an old metal facade. "Someone in the 1960s thought it was really good idea to cover up the original brick work," says Brian Vosburg, executive director of Ypsilanti’s downtown and Depot Town development authorities.
• Look in the Attic will also restore the facade to its building to make it historically accurate, while repairing and replacing the store’s windows.

Source: Brian Vosburg, executive direct of the Ypsilanti Downtown and Depot Town development authorities
Writer: Jon Zemke