After years of fundraisers, grant applications, and endless committee meetings aimed at revitalizing Mathews Main Street, volunteers are on the cusp of seeing the fruits of their labor.

Management consultant Sam Tuttle of Community Planning Partners told members of the Mathews Community Development Block Grant committee on May 5 that demolition, clearance and site preparation for a proposed park on Brickbat Road at the site of the former sewage treatment plant should be put out for bids in early July and be completed by the end of that month.

In addition, construction of the covered event space, boardwalk and dock at the park, which will be paid for with a grant from the National Park Service, should begin sometime after the new year, and completion is expected in the first quarter of 2015.

But perhaps the most exciting news for Main Street merchants is that façade improvements to 22 storefronts in 15 buildings should begin by September, with each of five rounds of improvemen...