Andrey Lytvynchuk and Odunayo Dada were eating banh mi sandwiches on the plaza in front of Houston's Central Library Wednesday. The sun had just peeked out, and jazzy reggae music rose over the generators of a small army of food trucks in the crisp fall air. It didn't look like a dead zone, but on many days of the year - even when major events like bike rides and road races are happening nearby - the plaza has long been quiet, even sometimes fenced off.

But that will change soon. Everyone out for the weekly downtown farmer's market was offered four green stickers to place on a pair of posters listing potential lunchtime and after-work activities for the space. As Lytvynchuk and Dada cast their votes, "specialty markets" lead the daytime category, closely followed by "food trucks." On the after-work board, "happy hour" was the overwhelming favorite.

"On a nice day, it's nice to get out of the office, experience the variety of foods and sit out in the sun for a while," said Lytvynchuk, a native of Ukraine. He and Dada, who's from Nigeria, both work as auditors at Deloitte and had walked about three blocks from their jobs.

'Heart of the City'

City officials recognize the plaza's potential as a people-gathering space, given its prime location between the Central Library and the beautifully-restored Julia Ideson Library. Wednesday they announced they have a source of funds to improve it: A Heart of the City grant from Southwest Airlines, in partnership with the Project for Public Spaces Inc., a New York nonprofit that has worked behind the scenes for about 40 years to help local groups turn under-used assets into vibrant public spaces. The organization has supported many Houston improvements, including Discovery Green, Market Square Park, Levi Park, Navigation Boulevard and Emancipation Park.

Project for Public Spaces provides technical assistance; Southwest will pay for the amenities and help to kick-start programming.

"It's the right time to award this grant and get the project started," said Megan Lee, Southwest's senior manager for community outreach.

The airline has already funded urban park-improvement projects in San Antonio, Detroit and Providence, Rhode Island. Eventually, it hopes to help revitalize public spaces in each of the 99 cities it serves, Lee said. She plans to have an additional five projects in play next year.

Exactly what will be done and what it will cost aren't yet known; that's partly what the public voting was about. The library will keep the posters up a few weeks before the design is finalized; work should begin in spring.

Assistant library director John Middleton, who programs the plaza's activities, already has a wish list that includes a bandstand. Temporarily hosting the downtown farmer's market gave him a great sense of what works, he said. Plaza users need shelter from rain and sun; and electricity is a must. The plaza currently has no permanent power source.

"It's been a challenge to bring out electricians, hook everything up and hope it doesn't rain," Middleton said.

He wants to schedule more festivals and offer the plaza as a headquarters for other events.

"We want to be a part of all this, both with our own programming and as partners with others," he said.

'Like our back

During a City Hall news conference to announce the grant at, Mayor Annise Parker acknowledged that while a lot of excitement now is focused on redevelopment of downtown's east side, the west side deserves attention for different reasons.

"For many people who come to the convention center, that's their image of Houston," she said. "On the other hand, this is like our backyard. This is where Houstonians hang out; where we had our veterans ceremony yesterday; where we have the holiday tree lighting and where parades start."

It's not just about adding amenities. The plaza's programming needs to work too, she said.

"If you don't have the programming to keep people coming back, they'll just drift away again." Jones Plaza, whose design won many awards when it was built, has not succeeded. "We have never managed to make it click for Houstonians or organizations that want to use it as an event space. The very design elements people thought were cool seem to also keep people from seeing it as a welcoming place," Parker said.

"We want to go into this one with the recognition that people come down here all the time for special events. Let's figure out a way to have them come down and hang out every day."