ODESSA, TX (KWES) - With a scoop of dirt, downtown Odessa will look a little different and many of the city's residents were on hand at the ground breaking ceremony to witness the start of a new chapter in its history.
Angelica Ramos, a life-long resident of Odessa said, "The city has grown so much, so much. It looks so different."
During the ceremony, 5th and North Texas Avenue, the site of the new 200 room hotel and almost 80,000 square-foot conference center gave the hundreds in attendance live music, entertainment, a history of Odessa's past, present, and future.
Reno and Angelica Ramos, life-long Odessa residents hope their city's downtown will look more like other metropolitan cities.
"It's more family-oriented, night life oriented so that way everybody kind of stays within downtown the heart of the city," said Ramos.
For the Ramos', and their growing family the new Marriott hotel and conference center couldn't have come at a better time.
"We have two boys and I want to see more family stuff going on around downtown, more parks, just recreational things that you can do for free," said Ramos.
The Ramos' along with others know this is the beginning of what could be a change from the Odessa they used to know.
"I want to see it grow and flourish so my son and grand kids so on and so forth live here," said Ramos.
Truman Warren a long-time Odessa resident, said, "I think with the help of others and our city government, we are going to have a great downtown."
From the months of planning to the millions invested, that scoop of dirt signifies a change for a city and its residents.
