Mark it on your calendar, April 3. Remember the date well.

That was when Motiva announced it would buy two downtown properties and move its office staff there, a corporate decision that many local leaders suggest may turn our community’s flagging fortunes around.

It’s more than the promise of restoration for two downtown historic, hidden treasures — the Federal Building, erected in 1912, during the dwindling days of President Howard Taft’s administration, and the Adams Building, built in 1925-26, when Calvin Coolidge was president.

That in itself, though, would be reward enough for a city staff that has worked hard to create and polish a vision of a preserved, appealing downtown.

Sam Monroe, president of the Port Arthur Historical Society, said, “Port Arthur has longed for this for years. This is huge.” It is.

It’s more than the employees who will work and perhaps dine and shop near the two imposing buildings, located at Austin Avenue and Fifth Street. Still, 500 people populating downtown every weekday will surely enliven those quiet downtown streets.

No, plans to restore and revitalize those two iconic buildings may spark something more: a movement toward downtown. That’s what city planners have envisioned for years: A key business player that would move into sleepy downtown, stamping Port Arthur with its approval, and shake the timbers of empty buildings around them.

Motiva, in a refinery that holds a history almost as old as Port Arthur itself, has the influential heft that would lead others downtown. If global giant Motiva believes downtown is worthy, others will, too.

Greater Port Arthur Chamber of Commerce President Pat Avery suggested Wednesday that contractors, eager to follow Motiva, might be next to move downtown. City leaders suggested restaurants, retailers and service vendors.

Monroe talked about regenerating downtown in the wake of Motiva’s groundbreaking move, and said that “second-level consequences are very significant.” We hope they are.

Isn’t that what Port Arthur’s leadership, elected and professional staff, have been touting? There have been myriad movements downtown — tax breaks, historic areas, opportunity zones and creation of affordable housing — that have invited a resettlement in the seawall’s shadow.

There are steps to go between now and May 15, when Motiva plans to make the purchase official. But the promise is palpable.

So is the boost to local morale and esteem for a city flattened by years of stumbles and setbacks, the latest a record-breaking storm that knocked Port Arthur to its knees. Yet, the city arises again.

Mayor Derrick Freeman likens Port Arthur to the giant tankers that pass by us every day. You turn around a big ship slowly, he said, and Port Arthur is turning — for better.

On April 3, all eyes were on Port Arthur’s future, not its past. What a welcome change.