Cedar Plaza The city’s program to spruce up its main traffic artery shifted into high gear with a recent $80,000grant to a business owner.

The 72,000-square-foot Cedar Plaza shopping center at 1720 E. Los Angeles Ave. will get a $315,000 renovation that will include replacing the exterior wood siding with stucco, adding a parapet to the roof, installing lighted individual signs for each of the 16 businesses and building a trellis entrance, said Mark Oyler, Simi Valley economic development manager.

It’s unclear when construction will begin.

The $500,000 Los Angeles Avenue Façade Renovation program gives grants to eligible business owners along L.A. Avenue between Erringer and Sinaloa roads for exterior improvements. A committee of volunteers and city council members review the design plans and either approves or denies the request.

Councilmember Barbra Williamson sits on the committee. She said it’s time for the city to do its part in making L.A. Avenue more aesthetically pleasing, adding decorative lighting and landscaping, for example.

“We need things that make people want to be there,” she said. “We want them to stop and smell the roses.”

The city funds a similar program for Tapo Street businesses.

—Michelle Knight