The weather over the last few months lent itself to favorable progress on some of the key summer construction projects underway in downtown Cleveland.
"It was a much better summer than it was a winter," said Jeff Appelbaum of Project Management Consultants is overseeing the new $276 million Hilton Convention Center Hotel.
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Crews have poured the concrete on the 32nd and final floor though the hotel's exterior will continue to rise another 30 feet or so. Appelbaum said a topping off ceremony will be held on Oct. 1 with the hotel slated to open June 1, 2016.
Also on pace for debut in June of next year is the new and improved Public Square. Crews continued to work through the summer months on the square's transformation.
"A lot of the initial work was underground utility work," said Jeremy Paris, Executive Director of the Group Plan Commission. "We've seen a lot of the precast concrete seating elements coming in and that butterfly shape of the square is now coming to light."
Paris said plans are also moving forward for the new pedestrian bridge connecting the downtown malls to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. A decision was made in March to not rush the project for the RNC, which might have compromised the aesthetic impact the finished product could have.
"We're in the middle of a bid process now for design build teams to come on and construct a bridge we've got a lot of industry interest involved," Paris said. "We still anticipate construction to begin next year on the bridge with completion for 2017."
