Massive party planned for site still under construction in Fredericton

While construction workers are hard at work, sweating to complete landscaping at Officers' Square in Fredericton, the city's project engineer says the party planned ahead of Canada Day in the very same space will go ahead.

Officers' Square has been under renovation since 2018. The project faced controversy with activists calling on the city to drop the project altogether in the beginning, even wrapping trees in blankets to protest their removal.

The renovations inched along until they markeda milestone last December, with the opening of theskating rinkin the square.

Now, a three-day festival and a Canada Day party are slated to kick off June 28as the spacereopensto the public, after along-awaited, much-debated makeover, despite the fact that work is still underway and gates continue to block the public's access.

According to Greg McCann, the city's project engineer, it's all going to plan.

"We're working away trying to finalize some last-minute items, not last minutebut meeting our schedule so that we can have a safe and successful Garrison Fest," McCannsaidin an interview.

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City project engineer Greg McCann says the work will be done just in time for the festival and grand re-opening of Officers Square in downtown Fredericton.

Garrison Fest is a free three-day concert series, which will featureJeremy Dutcher, Kill Chicago and Adam Baldwin & the Jenny Wren, among others.It'smeant to celebrate the square's grand reopening and lead up to the Canada Day festivities.

McCann saidthere are some small details that may not be completedbut the site will be mostly ready.

"You may see some decorative elements that aren't complete ... but the site will be safe and functional."

McCann said the decorative elements include some esthetic lighting, for example, that's not needed for the site's functionality.

"For the next two weeks, it's just going to be a slow grind of installing paver stones and getting our audio and audio-visual equipment in place," he said.

"We're actually moving from a construction site to maintenance now."

He saidredesigns based on stakeholder feedbackon the projectinfluenced the construction pace and timelines.

'We are communicating quite regularly'

Stacey Russell, Fredericton's manager of tourism and events, said planning the party without all of the finishing touches in place has meant co-ordinating with construction leads more often.

"We are communicating quite, quite regularly and we will continue to," said Russell.

"On everything that we do, there's always needing to build contingencies and us being able to roll with it," she said

Contingencies are in place should bad weather come down on construction crews. McCann says even if it rains, they'll keep the site and construction workers dry until the last walkway stone is laid.

"Bad weather certainly can impact it," he said. "But, you know, if we have to start bringing in some big umbrellas or I don't know what you call themtent structures to get the work done, then, we'll do that."

Once the landscaping is done, picnic tables, umbrellas, benches and other esthetic touches will be brought in just in time for the crowds.