FLINT, MI -- Seven projects -- some nearly complete and some just started -- are changing the look of downtown as the city heads into summer.

Here's what's behind the blocked sidewalks, dust and hardhats tied to all that work:

Capitol Theatre:

A subsidiary of Uptown Reinvestment Corp. signed a deal to buy the Capitol, located at Harrison and Second streets, and in April announced plans to spend an estimated $21 million to redevelop and reopen the landmark building.

The Friends of the Capitol Theatre is spending the coming months performing due diligence and finalizing a financial structure for the project.

"I don't anticipate that there will be any news until late summer into fall on this project," Marcus Papin, marketing, project and property manager for Uptown Reinvestment Corp., said in an email to MLive-The Flint Journal.

With renovation plans already prepared, construction is expected to move very quickly once it starts, with work expected to be completed as soon as 16 months from now.

Harrison Street:

But the work isn't completed -- it's just a pause until the city's biggest events are finished later this summer.

The city is using a $203,800 grant from the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation to transform Harrison into a street that encourages walking and biking from Fourth Street to the Flint River.

Among the changes: a protected two-way bicycle lane, new landscaping and on-street parking.

Downtown park:

Sprinkler system lines were being dug Wednesday, June 10, and work to connect to water is also expected to happen this week, Papin said.

The addition of sod will finish work on the park -- something that could happen next week.

Former Perry drug store:

City Administrator Natasha Henderson and Mayor Dayne Walling support freezing the taxable value of the property for 12 years, but the majority of the City Council oppose it.

Uptown has owned the property since purchasing it from Genesee County in 2006. The county had purchased the property in 2000 after a Family Dollar store that operated there nearly five years closed.

Prior to Family Dollar, the property was home to a Perry drug store, which closed in 1994.

The next meeting of the RTAB is July 15.

Former Woolworth building:

The property was included in a new Obsolete Property Rehabilitation Act district approved by the city earlier this year, creating potential tax benefits for a developer.

Riverbank Park:

All work is west of Saginaw Street and east of Garland Street, and includes construction of a new launch for canoes and kayaks, filling of existing canals, restoration and reconstruction of stairs and concrete walks in areas leading into the park, and construction of a new ADA accessible ramp to provide easier and safer access to the amphitheater stage.

After phase one, a timeline from the city says work will restart immediately after the Crim Festival of Races and is expected to continue for another eight to 10 weeks.

Dryden Building:

MLive-The Flint Journal could not reach owner Phil Hagerman, chief executive officer of Diplomat Pharmacy, who has said the roof of the building, which opened in 1902, has been replaced and much of the exterior work has been done.

Aframes, an eyewear company, has already moved into the building as its first new tenant.

Ron Fonger is a reporter for The Flint Journal. Contact him at rfonger1@mlive.com or 810-247-9963. Follow him on Twitter and Facebook.