Picnic set for tonight to get your thoughts on downtown plaza

Designers of a revamped entrance plaza into downtown Columbus want your thoughts on sprucing up the area.

Organizers and designers will be holding a Community Engagement Picnic from 6 p.m. to 7 p.m. this evening. That will be on Jackson Street, between First and Second Streets.

The 1.5-acre plaza on either side of Second Street and overlooking the Bartholomew County Courthouse is known for its memorials to POW/MIAs, public safety officers and the Robert D. Garton veterans memorial plaza. Organizers would like to refresh the area overall, and tie the plaza into the nearby 1821 Bicentennial Trail as well as a riverfront development project.

The city will be hosting the design firm chosen to revamp the plaza, Merritt Chase based in Indianapolis and Pittsburgh, first at the city’s redevelopment commission meeting and then at the picnic.

Landmark Columbus through the Columbus Design Institute is working with the city on the project.

Photo by Hadley Fruits courtesy of Landmark Columbus