POCATELLO — A major facelift of the city’s former Naval Ordnance Plant, which has been a local eyesore for decades, should be completed within about three months, officials involved with the project said Friday.

Mayor Brian Blad and other officials, dressed in suits and ties, symbolically kicked off the refurbishment during a brief ceremony on Friday afternoon. They dipped gold-leafed paint brushes into a bucket of paint and applied a rectangle of fresh primer to the brick facade of one of the plant’s industrial warehouses.

Industrial Realty Group, a Los Angeles real estate investment firm that specializes in rehabilitating expansive older properties, purchased the 150-acre local facility along Pole Line and Quinn roads and announced plans to rename it the Titan Center.

Salt Lake City-based Big-D Construction is the general contractor and will serve in a supervisory capacity for the renovation. Nick Segard, a project engineer with Big-D, said buildings 16, 36, 37 and 38 will receive fresh paint. Building 16, which is prominently located along Pole Line Road, will also receive new windows, and much of the siding will be replaced.

“We’re hopeful we’ll continue to go through and paint the rest of the campus, too,” Segard said.

Cruzer Industrial, based in Pocatello, will be the subcontractor tasked with implementing the beautification project. Mike Gunn, with Cruzer, said between 200 and 400 new windows will be installed, improving energy efficiency, lighting and ventilation.

Honoring the history of the facility, the buildings will be painted in Navy colors — blue and battleship grey. Cruzer said the project will entail painting about 400,000-square-feet of building facades and should take 90 days to finish.

Pocatello Development Authority, which administers the city’s tax increment financing districts, has pledged to reimburse IRG at least $1.1 million for the renovations.

Blad explained the TIF is relatively unique in that painting of buildings is designated as being eligible for TIF financing.

“We’ve got a great partner now that owns these buildings. They see the value and they’re putting the money into it so they can get these spruced up so they can make it look good. ... It’s something that’s been needed for decades,” Blad said.

Blad said the project should also help the facility lure new jobs into the community.

“Businesses come in here and they want to have a professional office space or a professional warehouse space and they see these buildings and they take a second step back and say, ‘Ah, maybe not.’ We’ll see businesses that will be more interested as well,” Blad said.

Blad said at IRG’s request, the city has also changed zoning of some of the property near the entrance to the facility, making way for a possible commercial and mixed-use area that could include retail businesses and a hotel.

TIF districts are the primary economic development tool available to help Idaho communities attract economic development.

In TIF districts, property values used for calculations by the general taxing entities are frozen at the rate before development. Funds generated from improvements within the designated urban renewal boundaries — known as the increment — are diverted from the general tax rolls for a specified period to repay investments in infrastructure.

Though the buildings in the former NOP plant are somewhat dilapidated, IRG officials have told the Journal they have industrial cranes and tall ceilings and would cost a fortune to build today. They also have good rail access, with tracks running through some of the buildings.