Plaza makeovers take downtown to new level

Used to be when people got to Main and College, they’d turn around and walk back.

There wasn’t much beyond if you weren’t staying at the hotels — just some shops, a mass of office towers and parking garages on either side.

That will change. Once the plaza by the Hyatt reopens next month, the formerly bare and square space where it was easier to find a trash can than a place to sit in the sun will be replaced with a new center of gravity at the edge of downtown.

To read full article, click here.

Now, the first thing you’ll see at NOMA Square (a combination of the words North on Main) is water spilling gently from a curved tiled wall. The big iron-ringed fountain is gone, as are the benches and heavy metal chairs. There’s a permanent stage, shade trees and earth-colored pavers beneath your feet.