Braving the incoming Texas summer heat, a crew of about 50 people is working hard to ensure the Berry Street overhaul will be completed on schedule by December.McClendon Construction Co. Inc. is responsible for the Berry Street reconstruction from Waits Avenue to Forest Park Boulevard.

“We’re about right on track with where we’re supposed to be,” said Rey Morales, general superintendent of McClendon.

The $5 million redevelopment is part of the Berry Street Initiative and is paid for by a combination of city, state and federal funds, said Sandra Dennehy, president of the Berry Street Initiative. Morales said the three-phase development plan will include the construction of a median, parallel parking spaces, tree-lined sidewalks and benches.

Morales said the first phase, which involves the north side of Berry Street, will be completed by mid-May. The two-month-long second phase will add a median to the center of Berry Street. The third and final phase, scheduled to begin in July, will complete the construction of the south side of Berry Street.

Morales said the entire project will be completed by December and will have taken just under a year.

However, Tom Leuschen, capital improvements projects manager with the Fort Worth transportation and public works department, said in an e-mail to Councilwoman Wendy Davis that he expects the construction to last until early 2007.

The GrandMarc at Westberry Place, another Berry Street construction site, is also on schedule for its August opening, said Johanna Janovsky, business manager for the GrandMarc.

About 30 percent of the apartments have been leased, but Janovsky said she expects that number to increase as more students decide their housing options for the next school year.

Janovsky said the apartments have been most popular with sophomore and junior students as well as sorority members. She added the “two-bedroom double-up” room has been the most popular, while the “one-bedroom double-up” room, which she said resembles a dorm room, has been the least popular.