Construction at Hope Plaza in Paradise may start in May
PARADISE » Hope Plaza is getting closer to becoming a reality in Paradise.
The project, which is slated to be built at the triangle in Paradise at the intersection of the Skyway and Foster Road, recently received $100,000 in funding from the North Valley Community Foundation.
But that’s not all, Melton Design Group’s Sarah Crossley, the project manager for Hope Plaza, said the design plans involve have been submitted and approved by the town.
Former town councilor Melissa Schuster, who is part of the project, said that the group is hoping to have equipment for construction on the site by late May.
“That (NVCF) money will al- low us to move forward with the initial ground and concrete work and, we hope, will encourage more donors to come forward,” she said. “Since the announcement of the grant, which is the second from NVCF, we’ve already had other contractors and individuals reach out with support.”
At the first Camp Fire remembrance town officials and others were there for the groundbreaking at the site, and since then the group has been fundraising for the site. The design hasn’t changed much since the original one was released in 2019.
“It’s pretty much the same we did change one element we did have an obelisk that was granite and basalt,” Crossley said. “It just started feeling too formal and so we changed to a tree, just representing a growth life it also became just a feature for the holidays wrapping Christmas lights.”
Replacing the obelisk with the tree wasn’t the only tweak, however.
‘We raised up the fountains, we had a wall of water as you enter the reflection forest there that sprays water coming out of the ground and that became just a little bit of a water issue on the ground,” Crossley said. “It’s not a splash park so we did want to raise that up and keep the water off the ground.”
Schuster said that the plaza has always been an interesting project to undertake. She added no public funds for the project will be used but the town also can’t discount any of those fees needed to build the project.
She also pointed out that the organizers of the project have been unwilling to ask residents for money which is why local
fundraisers have not been hosted connected to the project.
“Rather, we are hoping that, like the many contractors who’ve stepped up with contributions of time, materials, and/or cash, businesses and individuals outside of the community will help create this impactful gift to Paradise,” Schuster said.
“It’s been good working with the town and on our end working with the Hope Plaza team,” Crossley said. “Everyone’s been working well together.”
Crossley said building the project in phases helps take into account fundraising efforts, noting that removing the obelisk and replacing it with trees was more cost-efficient.
“As a designer, we gotta stick to budgets and keep those things in mind and I think the way we can deal with this is phasing the project,” she said. “The steel trees were a really big part of it — they’re a pricey item. They might not be in the ground right now but that might come later.”
She also pointed to another feature of the project.
“We have a sphere that rotates on top of the water that you can touch and feel inspirational words in it,” she said “It’s going to be a really nice feature — so kind of phasing the project together. We just kept in mind site furnishings — those types of things.”