Symphony Park working group narrows redesign ideas; City Parkway changes and parcel timelines discussed

Tracy Reich, redevelopment manager, told the City Parkway 5 Inc. board on June 1 that the Symphony Park Working Group — formed in April and meeting twice so far — is narrowing design options to make the area feel like a single, connected district.

“This group has a lot of ideas of what they would like to see and are starting to narrow that down,” Reich said, describing redesign work around Parcels M2 and M1, a new approach to the park entrance sign and efforts to improve circulation so visitors move more easily between the Smith Center, museums and nearby restaurants.

Reich said the group is also exploring ways to formalize walking and running loops through Symphony Park and to narrow portions of City Parkway to reduce the expanse of pavement that currently separates parcels. She said narrowing the roadway would require a traffic‑engineering update and changes to the design standards that will be returned to the city council for approval.

Board members raised funding and event‑egress questions. Reich said the city has not fixed funding for major curb or pavement reconstruction and that some owners may contribute to landscaping or bulb‑outs; the long‑range plan called for the city to reconstruct surface streets after the final parcel is built.

On project milestones, Reich reported several near‑term moves: Bria is in pre‑leasing with an aim for first move‑ins by month‑end; Capella is set to begin pre‑leasing in August or September with residents arriving this fall; the main art museum is working through permitting and an affiliated media lab remains in value‑engineering and likely won’t open until after the new year. She said Parcel E (referred to in the discussion as Redidge) is expected to close by mid‑July, with construction mobilization to begin within roughly 30–45 days of closing.

No formal actions were required on the reports. The board proceeded to the next agenda item after brief clarification about construction sequencing and timelines.