City officials and downtown merchants will participate in a ceremony Wednesday afternoon marking the completion of the fourth and final round of publicly funded building improvements in Old Town Newhall.

In 2009 the city received $303,635 in federal American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (aka “stimulus”) money, which it used to rehabilitate a number of storefronts. The official purpose of the expenditure was to “to preserve the historic elements of the Old Town Newhall area and enhance existing buildings to restore economic vitality and increase investment in commercial properties.”

The city awarded grants of $55,000 each to four property owners: Adrianna and David Gammert, Jusgo Investments LLC, Harry and Mabel Mayelian, and SBB&K Properties. The money was spent to rehab buildings occupied by Valencia Bicycle Shop, One Savvy Girl, Magaly Beauty Salon, Way Station Coffee Shop, El Pariente, LA County Business Machines, David’s Café, Diana’s Envios, SBB&K Properties, Sedin Begakis & Bish, The Rafters and Hispanos de Newhall AA and Railroad Café.

A ribbon cutting to mark the completion of the upgrades will be held at 4 p.m. at 24355 Main Street. Parking will be available in the lot between Lyons Avenue and 9th Street, which is accessible from Railroad Avenue.