Denton's downtown square is dotted with restaurants, bars and retail shops topped with loft apartments. People strolling down the street can rest on benches in the shade or sit at tables outside cafes. It wasn't always this way.

Like Arlington, Denton officials had tried for years to revitalize their downtown but made little progress. During the past several years, however, their vision of a vital downtown has begun to take shape. "The first five or six years, things moved pretty slowly," Denton's Main Street manager Julie Glover said.

To help jump-start the project, Denton hired consultant John Fregonese, a nationally known urban planning consultant, in 2000. The Arlington council, which has long advocated downtown revitalization, recently hired Fregonese to help make its vision of downtown a reality. A redeveloped downtown in Arlington, however, is still a gleam in Fregonese's eyes; insiders know that there are several plans gathering dust. "Plans are just plans. Another plan is not a catalyst in my mind," said Doug Huffman, an Arlington developer who is building a 28-unit town house development near the University of Texas at Arlington.

Downtown Denton was skeptical at first, too. In the 1980s, Denton's downtown was ailing, with only 70 percent of space around the square occupied. Bill Thomas, who has owned and operated a furniture store downtown for 42 years, said the area used to have burned buildings with boarded-up windows. He said business owners had tried for years to band together to improve the area. But in the late '80s, merchants in the square formed the Central Business Association and went to the City Council.

"They wanted to stop the bleeding," Glover said. When Main Street Denton, a downtown redevelopment advocacy group, was formed, Thomas, 77, said he didn't think it would work. "I was called the doubting Thomas," he said. But as the city dedicated money to downtown and began work, he said he changed his mind. "Main Street is the best thing to come along," he said. In the 1990s, the city repaired sidewalks, buried utility lines, held events downtown and promoted retailers. Bonds paid for more sidewalk repairs and new light signal posts.

Tax abatements were offered to owners who rehabilitated downtown buildings, but growth was still slow, Glover said. City officials realized that outside help was needed and paid Fregonese about $ 200,000 for three projects: developing a downtown master plan and an open-space plan for the whole city, and redefining the city's zoning ordinances. Arlington hired Fregonese to develop a plan for its downtown for $ 50,000 plus expenses, for a projected total of about $ 85,000.

Glover said hiring Fregonese helped focus Denton city leaders. "He validated what we were doing and showed us we were on the right track," she said. Before formulating a plan, Fregonese met with residents, conducted workshops and public hearings, worked with planning and zoning commissioners and attended neighborhood meetings to see what residents wanted for downtown. He developed an action plan with a timetable, giving the city specific tasks and deadlines.

Fregonese's plan included relaxed zoning requirements and added the mixed-use classification to city codes, allowing residences to be mixed with commercial development downtown. "Fregonese gave us the guts of the code, and we tailored it in the public process," said Larry Reichhart, Denton's assistant planning director. Fregonese's plan also directed the city to allow downtown sidewalk cafes, where shoppers can stop and have a drink.

He told city officials that people traveling along the interstate wouldn't visit the square without proper signs. The city is in the process of getting those signs. Fregonese's plan provided for improved infrastructure on streets that back up to the square, allowing pedestrian access from surrounding neighborhoods. Dedra Ragland, Denton's planning manager, said the city will soon conduct a pilot project on Cedar Street to fix the sidewalks and conceal trash bins.

"This will make a connection between Denton and the schools," she said, referring to the University of North Texas and Texas Woman's University. "We'll get the kids downtown to enjoy the area." Fregonese's work in Arlington is moving along the same lines. He conducted a three-day workshop in June and presented a concept plan to the Downtown Arlington Initiative Committee on Monday. "It's not the answer, but it's a beginning," Fregonese said during the meeting.