REDMOND, OR -- The expansion of Redmond’s Centennial Park could get underway sooner than expected. Project Manager Troy Rayburn says the last tenant of the lot between the existing park and City Hall is moving up his plans. "Good news: we’ve heard that the gentlemen who is in a lease agreement with the city, the Printing Post, will vacate by spring of 2018, if not before. So, if we’re able to keep the project’s momentum, we’ll probably be breaking ground by spring of 2018."

The design of the future park is starting to take shape and Rayburn says residents have taken a big interest in how it will eventually look, "We had a public forum where we had approximately 12-15 different park amenities/ideas submitted to the task force. We had an online survey that ran for a little over two weeks, where we received approximately 400 replies or submittals." He tells KBND News, "Those amenities, between the open house in March and the online public survey, range from 'keep it green, keep it an open space' – once you lose the green space, there’s no getting it back – to people who kind of want a little bit more of a mixture with an active use combined with a passive use, where people play everything from bocce ball to maybe a small summer concert series."