Ledyard — Two projects, one underway and one that soon will be sent to bid for construction this summer, are set to transform the look of Ledyard center by the end of this year.  

Progress on the new police facility, which began in September, has been quick in order to meet a goal to open the facility in October.

The two-story internal steel structure has been constructed, and much of the underground work has been completed, including the septic system. 

Mayor Michael Finkelstein said he hopes the workers will be able to enclose the building by the end of the week in order to heat it and begin constructing some of the interior walls.

Across the street, the Ledyard Town Center Committee will by next week send to bid a streetscaping plan to improve the look and accessibility of the stretch of Colonel Ledyard Highway in front of the fairgrounds and Ledyard Center School.

The committee has been pursuing improvement projects for the area of town that includes the town hall, fairgrounds and the Congregational Church since 2006.

In 2011, the town received a small town economic assistance program, or STEAP grant for $150,000 to build a stone wall along the area that divides the town's fairgrounds from the school and the congregational church.

Further efforts by the committee came to fruition in 2014, when the town received an additional $500,000 STEAP grant for beautification, used to extend the streetscaping project toward the town hall.

The design will add streetlights, trees in front of the school and the Valentino's parking lot, as well as 13 street parking spots for both the police station and the town hall.

A bike lane included in previous plans has been shifted to a "shared" lane because it did not meet state width requirements.

Between the trees and parking spaces would be a stone wall, meant to match the wall and fencing constructed in the 2011 phase.

Pedestrian accessibility is also a focus of both projects; a crosswalk at the entrance to town hall as well as one near the fairgrounds will coincide with new sidewalks in front of the police facility.

The streetscaping is meant to harmonize with the landscaping work included the police headquarters project, according to committee member Jeff Beacham.

To that end, the same Mystic landscape architecture firm, Kent + Frost, was hired for the work.

The landscaping around the police facility would include new green space between the town hall and the police facility, with benches and stairs up the sloping area toward the town hall, Mayor Finkelstein said.

"It is going to be a community area, part of that was trying to get the town hall campus to be more presentable and functional, which is a big part of this project," Finkelstein said of the police facility. "We're really trying to invest in how Ledyard center looks."

n.lynch@theday.com

Twitter: @_nathanlynch