Climbing Out of the Trenches to get a View From Above

As a member of the “working committee” I spend a large portion of most Friday afternoons in meetings about the Broadway Plaza. In these meetings, we discuss everything from how the space will be used to where the bathroom signs should be mounted (on the door or on the wall next to the doors). We get weekly updates about the construction progress and each team member is assigned tasks to complete before our next meeting. Often between Friday meetings, things come up that require decisions. Sometimes these decisions can be dealt with via email; sometimes we just have to add an impromptu meeting at the construction site so we can make a decision like what color of caulk should be used in the expansion joints on the walls. It is easy to get so bogged down with the small details that you forget the big picture.

In my free time in the evenings and on weekends, I often climb the thirty-two steps up to the second floor of the Bankers Loan and Trust Building to work on my own little construction project. Since the building is located on the corner opposite of the Broadway Plaza, the corner tower is always my first stop as I reach the top of the stairs. From this unique perspective, I have an opportunity to survey the progress of construction and see the big picture of what will be The Broadway Plaza. I have watched as the brick wall went up – improving the appearance of all of downtown – and providing a backdrop to the stage and video screen. I observed as the plumbing was roughed in for the bathroom and concession stand; from that perspective, you can count and make sure they didn’t forget any drains. I have seen the main drains for the splash pad go in. The base of the stage is now there, and the foundations for the support structure for the screen and speaker towers have also been completed.

As the construction crews work diligently to turn an eyesore of empty lots into Concordia’s Broadway Plaza, it is fun hear people and civic groups talk about how they are going to use the plaza. As they share their dreams and plans, I’ve realized each of us has a different idea of what the big picture is for Broadway Plaza. I am reminded of a quote from Walt Disney:

You can dream, create, design, and build the most wonderful place in the world…but it requires people to make the dream a reality.

Won’t you Join me in making our collective dreams for how the Broadway Plaza will be used a reality?