When Arlington hired John Fregonese, a nationally recognized urban planner, to take a look at its downtown area and offer suggestions, his most telling bit of advice was this: It was time to stop planning and start doing. That advice came in the spring of 2004. Given Arlington's history, it would have been no surprise if city leaders had decided to conduct a study on whether they should stop planning and start doing.

It's taken a while -- more than two years -- but happily there's some actual doing in the works. Two major buildings are under construction, an office building and county subcourthouse. A revamp of the city streetscape of North Center Street also is under way. And while the general public might not know about the work of the mayor-appointed Central Arlington Neighborhood Revitalization Committee chaired by Joan Bergstrom, the committee is overseeing several interesting downtown redevelopment programs. These include financial assistance plans for owner-occupied housing in the area, a grant plan for first-time homeowners, a business facade economic assistance plan and a $1.53 million fund for mixed development projects.

The University of Texas at Arlington has included a mixed-use retail and residential "College Town" component in its master plan. The Arlington Historical Society has completed the movement of several historical cabins to Knapp Park in the center of the old downtown area. And, finally, taxable values in the downtown tax increment financing district are growing, which will provide more funds for infrastructure improvements. Some of the above is, of course, more planning. But much of it involves real bricks and mortar. That's actual progress that is building momentum. Arlington residents who haven't been to the downtown area in a while should take a look.