Dayton is cleaning up downtown ahead of NATO assembly in May
City officials say that plans are underway to bring flowers and better lighting to areas of downtown Dayton ahead of a major influx of visitors.
Portion of downtown Dayton becoming 'NATO Village' in May
All throughout downtown, workers are making improvements to buildings and roads like Main Street and Third Street. The city says the operation to revitalize the downtown space includes addressing sidewalk conditions and modernizing road signs.
'What's really different this year is that we have a bigger focus on lighting and making sure that the banners are telling a story,' said Kristina Scott, vice president for strategy, Downtown Dayton Partnership.
City leaders say renovations are also happening in downtown spaces like the Schuster Center. Many of these improvements have been in the works for years.
'The Convention Center has been making millions of dollars of investment in improvements, and it looks great inside,' said Scott.
Officials have also invited the public to help take part in activities like painting and road clean-up to further the appearance of public spaces as the city prepares to receive thousands of international delegates and visitors.
The public clean-up is scheduled for April 26.
Unique performance announced ahead of Dayton's NATO assembly
Local leaders planning the event add that it was necessary to include the local community for such a large-scale endeavor for the city of Dayton.
'We have an opportunity to clean up the streetscape at Third and Main to make sure that the sidewalks are safe,' said Scott. 'And to just put a shine on the entire downtown here in the city, so that we are ready for the world stage.'
City leaders add that there could be more updates to signage and other downtown landmarks ahead of the event in May.
Leaders add that these improvements will have a local impact to residents for years to come.
'It's really important to us that NATO is an opportunity for us to spruce up downtown, to make some improvements,' said Scott.
The NATO Parliamentary Assembly is scheduled to take place over the Memorial Day weekend.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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