Will the Centennial Plaza Project move Forward?

The Centennial Plaza project in downtown Canton could take a big step forward on Monday night.

Canton City Council will take a vote on renaming Market Square to Centennial Plaza and appropriating around $7.4 million dollars to begin the project.

“We’re gonna build a central park in downtown Canton that we all can and are going to take great pride in,” said Mayor Tom Bernabei on with WHBC.

The mayor says, after a few re-designs, he believes they’ve settled on the right look for the plaza.

“It’s an elegant design and a functional design,” he said.

The mayor says there’s no time to waste if they want to get the plaza done by August 2020 in time for Canton hosting the NFL’s Centennial Celebration the following month.

He says construction will begin in the first or second week of July, and some streets around Market Square will be closed for about a year.

3rd Street, 4th Street and Court Avenue will be streetscaped and will essentially become a part of the plaza.

The plaza will include two performance stages, a video board, a cafe and more.

The total cost is estimated to be $12.3 million.

The city says private fundraising for the project has brought in around $2.1 million and they’ve received a tentative agreement from the Pro Football Hall of Fame to work with the state to redirect funds approved for the Hall in the last state capital budget, which would provide $1 million for the project.