The Ames Foundation will be tearing out the top soil and replanting perennials and annuals Wednesday in the planters along Grand Avenue.

The Ames Foundation started the $54,000 project March 26, said Joyce Vegge, president of the Ames Foundation.

The money came through fund-raising efforts.

Verne Bates, Ames Foundation member, said in addition to planting, there will be decorative wraps going around pots to make them more attractive.

This project is the type the Ames Foundation was created to do.

“I think the Ames Foundation looks for projects that make Ames a better place to live. The downtown area is very nice, and making it more physically attractive will make the businesses more healthy and make it a healthier community,” Bates said.

Bates said the flower beds were planted several years back, but no one had been watering or weeding them. This time the city is going to do the watering and the Ames Foundation will do the weeding.

Vegge said this project will hopefully boost economic vitality downtown.

The Ames Foundation has been around for more than 30 years and has raised money for small and large projects in the Ames community, according to its website.

Some other projects the Ames foundation has completed include the restoration of Bandshell Park, landscaped city parks, cemeteries and entrances and was responsible for the time capsule in Stuart Smith Park.