An upgrade for the central plaza in San Antonio Tlayacapan will finally get under way before the end of this month, according to Chapala Public Works Director Rodrigo Paredes.
The project has been delayed since last year due to legal issues concerning the transfer of the property title from private hands to the municipal government.
The plaza and the Delegacion office building were to be donated to the city by the owner José García Estrada, who died two years ago before the paperwork could be completed. Garcia’s heirs proceeded to fulfill his wishes, but due to an administrative error the new title included other adjacent properties that were to remain in the family’s name. The matter has now been sorted out, Paredes says.
Originally conceived by the previous administration, funding for the plaza refurbishment was included in the state’s Regional Development Program (Fondereg) for 2015. Instead, the current government tapped into the three-million peso budget to renovate the median strip opposite Chapala City Hall. In this year’s Fondereg package, however, four million pesos was earmarked for San Antonio.
Several months ago, a revised design for the plaza was presented to town inhabitants for review. Public opinion was generally favorable, except for the proposed reconstruction of the bandstand kiosk which has stood unchanged for 80 years.
Paredes explains that modifications will include renewal of the plaza surface with tile pavers, along with the installation of new lighting fixtures and park benches. The kiosk will be left intact.
He anticipates it will take approximately two months to complete the work, with a finish date projected for October.
The top-to-bottom renewal of the of the plaza in San Nicolás de Ibarra initiated last month will be done prior to the Independence Day festivities in mid-September, the official says.