The street that was once Vancouver's heartbeat of entertainment will once again take centre stage thanks to a $24 million overhaul. The new and improved Granville Street is ready just in time for the 2010 Games -- and the businesses left flailing under years of constant construction.

Donnie Wong, project manager of the Granville Street redesign, says all that is left to do is put the finishing touches on the makeover. City workers are unwrapping and installing metal chairs, benches and bike racks -- all crafted specially for the project.

"All the street furniture for the street is custom designed for this street only," Wong said.

"I'm totally thrilled."

The new Granville strip is now a tree-lined transit and pedestrian only boulevard with a high-end finish. Exposed aggregate sidewalks feature glass etching and salt stone branding.

It also features decorative tube lighting, an energy-efficient throwback to the old days of neon on Granville.

"We have a brand new street after 35 years of something that was looking pretty run down that most of us wouldn't put up with," said Charles Gauthier of the Downtown Business Improvement Association.

But it's been a long road to restore the entertainment district to its former glory. When the city pledged to bring the glory back to the Granville strip, businesses had no idea it would mean a sharp decrease in foot traffic and plummeting sales.

"A lot of the business down here have had to endure construction for a while and we can finally see the fruits of their labour," Wong said.

The years of constant construction took a toll on area businesses, says Paul Hodgson, manager of Charlie's Music.

"It's been very, very rough. We've had to be very inventive to generate business because no one was walking in the streets."

The disruption nearly bankrupted many businesses

"We had a really hard time," said Brandy Topping of David Gordon Shoes.

"We were begging suppliers to hang on... saying we'll be able to pay our bills once we get some traffic back."

But toughing it out may just pay off, says Gauthier. The visitors are coming back to Granville Street and, come February, thousands of tourists will come to the area for the very first time.

"I think people have to come and re-discover Granville Street and a good time to do that is during the Olympics when there is so much happening here."

With a report from CTV British Columbia's Shannon Paterson