The future of downtown McAllen is up for discussion.

Residents gave their feedback on what the area should look like during an open house on Monday. Many property owners attended the event, including the daughter of an owner of several buildings downtown, many of them on 17th Street.

Erica De La Garza-Lopez hopes the area will soon have a mix of stores and restaurants, instead of just bars.

What started as Kalifa Dry Goods on the corner of 17th Street and Beaumont Avenue became Kalifa's Western Wear for 50 years.

"We had a huge clientele from Reynosa and Monterrey, and it was so nice to meet so many families," Garza-Lopez said.

Currently, 201 South 17th Street sits empty. Other storefronts also sit closed or operate as a bar. Garza-Lopez wants to see life back on the street.

"I really enjoyed spending Saturday mornings having breakfast at the restaurants downtown before going to work with dad," Garza-Lopez said.

The McAllen Chamber of Commerce hosted a public open house on Monday. They asked people who live, work, and visit downtown McAllen what they think downtown should have and how it should look.

Kari Spiegelhalter is one of the consultants hired by the city to redesign downtown.

"Cities have to think really carefully about how they can partner with developers to bring vitality back downtown," Spiegelhalter said.

The city sent out a survey in April. That was the first step in a three-phase plan to revitalize downtown.

During the open house, people used stickers to rate prompts all over the walls including one asking about creating a downtown historic district so that eligible properties can receive historic tax credits for upgrades.

Gold stars were for people that loved the idea, green dots for people that liked it, and red dots for people who didn't like it. Then there was a follow-up question asking if residential properties would be included as well.

People were also given the opportunity to redesign Main Street and 17th Street, giving their opinion on residential and commercial spaces.

Garza-Lopez hopes to see downtown similar to how lively it was when she was young.

"I would love to see more shopping, and more restaurant attractions for our city and for our families," Garza-Lopez said.

Those who couldn't attend the open house can still participate in the survey and answer questions that were presented during the event. The deadline to fill out the survey is July 7.

Afterwards, a road map will then be created outlining the changes for downtown and what comes next.

To fill out the survey, click here.

Watch the video above for the full story.