In 2001, when former Mayor Laurence Leyens announced that about $17 million would be borrowed in the name of city taxpayers and a large chunk would be devoted to downtown redevelopment, there were a lot of skeptics. The area, a lot of people said, was too far gone.

Merchants who had remained in the area arrived each morning to find broken windows, urine-stained stoops, litter. Police were called on to break up marauding mobs at 2 a.m. or investigate shootings, stabbings and killings.

But within three years, the Washington Street mall was a different place. Improved landscaping, parking, amenities such as well-kept public restrooms, wireless Internet service and more nurtured existing businesses and attracted investors. The City Front area, neglected for decades, became a city centerpiece, with murals, a splash fountain, playground, art park and the beginnings of what will be a unique Corps of Engineers interpretive center. Downtown was family-friendly once again.

It wasn’t a perfect process. There were delays, setbacks, confusion, accusations, recriminations. Naysayers were as convinced as they had been before the work started that nothing would come of it.

Today, that process continues. In the same week that George Mayer, former owner of The Vicksburg, said he would be returning to improve and put the city’s tallest structure “under old management,” Robert Ware, perhaps the largest downtown investor during the past six years, closed his Washington Street businesses and said he’s hoping to sell. Earlier this fall, Borello’s closed, but is soon to reopen again as Duff’s Tavern. The Valley transformation to corporate apartments has been brought to fruition, but other projects are on seemingly endless hold.

Going forward, there are key zoning and regulatory decisions to be made. Wisely, Mayor Paul Winfield has said he will include stakeholders on a panel to help guide the city’s decisions. That’s smart.

Differences of opinion are sure to continue. Downtown has come a long way, but needs more investors. No policy should discourage vibrancy; no decision should infringe unnecessarily on historic architectural integrity. What has been accomplished through the investment of city taxpayers is nothing short of remarkable. Nine years have passed. The naysayers haven’t gone anywhere, but the visionaries must prevail.