The bleak prison wall area along Wall Street in Auburn will soon be receiving a face-lift intended to have positive effects on the entire neighborhood.

State Sen. Michael Nozzolio announced Wednesday that he had secured a $200,000 state grant for the Wall Street Neighborhood Improvements project, which is an off-shoot of the city's more extensive Dunn & McCarthy Neighborhood revitalization plan.

“The issue is one of rebuilding our neighborhoods and making sure that you have good, sound infrastructure that's aesthetically pleasing,” Nozzolio said in a news release.

“We can't have a strong city unless you have strong neighborhoods,” he said.

The improvements will include installation of granite curbing along Wall Street; a low, ornamental fence behind the curbing; a new lawn area and planting beds in the public right of way; and the creation of limited, defined parking spaces at each guard tower location.

The entire project is estimated to cost $197,000, though the estimate was done in 2003, so costs could end up higher.

Former city councilor Bill Jacobs had initiated the Wall Street improvements as part of a larger neighborhood plan several years ago. Jacobs said with the recent investments by the city in

the area using Community Development Block Grant

funds and increased investment by home and business owners in the area, the Wall Street neighborhood area has already started to turn around.

“That particular area, it's going through a renaissance right now,” he said. “This will add to the renaissance of the area.”

Steve Lynch, director of the office of planning and economic development, said work on the project could begin as soon as the upcoming construction season, though that will depend on when the funding comes through.

While the hulking prison wall will always be a part of the neighborhood, turning it into something more aesthetically pleasing can only help, Nozzolio said. “The prison is what it is,” he said. “(This project) makes a park-like atmosphere outside the prison walls. It makes the area around the prison a little more cheerful and a little more aesthetically pleasing.”