SIDNEY -- Work is underway to change the look, the very personality, of the Cheyenne Villa apartment complex.

Jon Eppolito, director of facilities for the Seldin Company of Omaha, and Ken Turner of Turner Landscaping, discussed the project and anticipated appearance when the work is completed.

"This is a project we've been working on for quite some time. We are trying to improve the curb appeal, kind of reinvent the property, make it look good, re-establish the landscape, just make it a better place to live for everybody here, look better for the community and everybody all around," said Eppolito.

Ken Turner has an established landscaping service and is working on a nursery. He is contracted for the groundwork at Cheyenne Villa.

"My role here is to do everything according to getting all the grading done, putting in a proper irrigation system in, just getting all the details and the finish work so everything looks really nice and good," Turner said.

The project requires removing the growth and top soil from the yards and placing new soil. 

"What you see in front of us we took out about eight inches of soil ... above the concrete ... that you see. We took all that out, and we graded up against the building, and moved the dirt back a little bit so we could put the rock in. Then we're going to till it to get our grade back up, and smooth it all off, after the irrigation gets in and gets completed," he said on a tour of the project this morning.

Turner said they are going to hydro-seed the area. A new playground area is also planned for the complex. The existing play area will be upgraded with new landscaping, Turner said.

"In the west side, south, we are going to put a playground for the kids," he said.

He said the weeds and trash will be gone when the project is completed, calling the work "a complete makeover."

Turner expects completion of the project by May 1, weather permitting.