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Rochester Local

Watch the Construction at Home + A New Update | ♡ Heart of the City for Rochester Families ♡

This post is sponsored by Destination Medical Center

Peace Plaza Construction Cam still image from the Heart of the City construction work

Earlier this summer, Rochester Mom in partnership with Destination Medical Center launched a brand new summer series called ♡Heart of the City for Rochester Families ♡.  Our goal is to help families in the Rochester MN area know all about this special construction project, share fun details and facts, and update the community on the project progress.  If you miss one of our weekly updates, you can always access them on Rochester Mom on the Heart of the City tab on our main navigation bar.

Before we get started on our construction update, we want to be sure you know all about the Scavenger Hunt downtown (download here or pick up a copy a the construction office) in the construction area with a weekly giveaway to Moka Coffee! Turn in your completed hunt at the construction office station and pick up a construction hat. DMC will let you know if you win!

Scavenger hunt construction station outside the construction office.

Watch the Construction LIVE!

Did you know that you can keep up on all that’s happening with the Heart of the City construction project? The project team has set up two webcams for you to view.  This offers a birds eye view of all the work.  The cameras provide a snapshot of what’s currently happening at any given moment.  There are also some really fun time-lapses that you can access and play!

Peace Plaza Construction Cam

1st Avenue Construction Cam

Mid-Summer Heart of the City Construction Updates

The Kraus Anderson construction team is closely following the Business Forward plan created by downtown business stakeholders and guided by Destination Medical Center to limit disruption to businesses.  When Covid-19 arrived, the construction team increased their team to work 6 days a week while downtown crowds were small in an effort to speed up the construction timeline.  Below are some really exciting ahead of schedule updates!

Completed Tasks

  • The installation of the Peace Plaza Storm sewer is complete!  We learned all about this important infrastructure work at the beginning of our series.
  • Last week (the week of July 27th) 2nd Street SW was prepped in order for concrete to be poured this week.

Upcoming Announcements

  • 2nd Street SW between Broadway Avenue and 1st Avenue SW is expected to open up as early as August 12th.  This project milestone is well ahead of schedule.
  • The rest of 2nd Street SW from Broadway Avenue to Civic Center Drive (right in front of the Rochester Public Library) is set to open as early as August 23rd.

Other Extra Fun Projects

Treeboxes: Phase 1 of the Heart of the City project includes many new trees to be added to the downtown area.  This is a win for Rochester residents and families!  The concrete barriers in these areas have been removed and chainlink fencing added to prepare for the excavation work for the tree boxes. Below is an artist rendering of the “Forest Room” of the Heart of the City project.  The trees you see will sit inside the treeboxes that are being excavated this week.

Peace Plaza Scrim Pool: We’ve received several questions about what the scrim pool will be at the heart of Peace Plaza. The completed Peace Plaza project includes a large shallow reflection pool for visitors and residents to enjoy.  To make this a multi-functioning space, a scrim (a scrim is a covering that is adaptable to a space) will be installed to cover the pool in various configurations for special events, concerts, and more! Below is a conceptual image of the finished Peace Plaza scrim pool area.

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