Opp City Planner Jason Bryan said Tuesday he hopes to have the Opp Depot restoration project under way by spring.

Bryan said he is currently waiting on final review from the building commission.

“They have been back and forth with the Historical Commission on the plans,” he said. “Then we will have to submit to DOT, who will send it to the FWHA,” he said.

The city has received a $500,000 grant through the Transportation Alternatives Program (TAP), and Bryan said the plans must be approved by Washington by Dec. 10.

“We will start within 45 days of approval,” he said. “We have to advertise statewide. So we are looking at starting early spring. I’m hoping to have it finished within six months. The city is going to do some of the work, but we will contract out most of it.”

The grant requires a 20 percent match from the city.

“The pan is for this facility to be a welcome center for our city, that will hopefully house the Chamber of Commerce as well,” Mayor John Bartholomew said two years ago. “It’s going to be a focal point, we feel, once it’s completed.”