The Hutchinson News reports a groundbreaking ceremony is scheduled Thursday morning for the $3.5 million redevelopment project in Anthony.

Several businesses were destroyed on July 8, 2009, by a gas explosion and massive fire that burned for hours. The fire began when a truck broke through pavement in an alley, severing a gas line that then exploded.

Demolition began a year later, and a special sales tax was levied in the downtown area to fund the reconstruction.

The project calls for a building a two-story, 41,000-square-foot shell with nearly a dozen storefronts, which will then be up to individual property owners to complete.