Centennial Plaza offers a bold vision for the city of Canton, Ohio, and its residents. Inspired by the city's rich history, the design establishes an iconic presence downtown, utilizing a variety of social spaces and architecture that will inspire residents for years to come.

For the past three decades, the city of Canton has endeavored to provide for its citizens a central public space that would be both iconic in its design and transformative in its approach to encourage economic development, strengthen the downtown core, and enhance surrounding neighborhoods. Beginning in 2014 with several completed projects, new businesses, and regional attractions, including the Pro Football Hall of Fame and Village, the city has generated tremendous momentum by creating new commercial activity, residential growth, and entertainment experiences.

Origins
The Centennial Plaza project was initiated in 2016, with the city council's design phase authorized in 2018. The project broke ground on August 28, 2019, and notwithstanding the worldwide COVID-19 pandemic, Centennial Plaza reached substantial completion on November 20, 2020.

Initially, investment in a central public space had not taken place but with the help of funding from the citizens and businesses of Canton, Centennial Plaza became that investment, establishing a central green space for the community and another regional destination for visitors.

The plaza takes cues from Canton's rich historical and manufacturing heritage. As the hometown of President William McKinley and the birthplace of modern pro football, Centennial Plaza provides a link to its past while offering a bold vision for the city's future. It is an essential building block in creating a vibrant downtown with the ability to generate day-to-day activities and host major events, serve as the city's public square for the entire community, and provide a memorable landmark for all visitors.

A cohesive and continuous space designed to bring members of the community together through music, art, and food, the design called for a unifying paving strategy with accessible routes that spanned the public realm (streets) to the private domain (plaza) and from building face to building face along 3rd Street, 4th Street, and Court Avenue. The city also expressed a desire for a more modern appearance to the plaza, one that would present a forward-thinking approach that aligned with their long-term goals of reinventing the downtown core.

 
The Working Plan
Serving as prime consultant, MKSK led a diverse team of design professionals, including Tim Lai Architect (pavilion and restaurant design architect), Sol Harris/Day Architecture (restaurant architect of record), Atwell LLC (civil engineer), Arup (structural engineer), Tec Studio Inc. (lighting designer), and Tec Inc. (electrical engineer) who delivered an award-winning public space that offers a variety of amenities such as the Centennial Pavilion and Event Lawn, the 65-foot tall stainless steel rotunda sculpture, a mist garden, custom Canton signage, a 1,400-square-foot restaurant, a social garden for casual gatherings, and 11 NFL pylons that that have the names of 25,474 players that played in the NFL's first century to commemorate the centennial.

The design process focused on utilizing the history and character of the existing site as the foundation for the design, in conjunction with Canton's relationship with the Pro Football Hall of Fame as a sister site for commemorative events. Market Avenue serves as the front door to the plaza, with major gateways established at the intersections of 3rd and 4th Streets.

Mirroring the City
Architectural and landscape architectural elements were designed to reflect Canton's principles, qualities, and characteristics. To build on the already strong sense of community and identity, the design team at MKSK utilized materials commonly found in Canton, including locally sourced brick, stone, and metal. The Belden Brick Company's clay pavers were selected for the hardscape design due to their strong commitment to the city and its ability to manufacture a premium clay paver that would reinforce the plaza's design aesthetic and vision.

The use of clay pavers was critical in achieving the goals outlined above. The long-term durability, color selections, and varied shapes allowed the design team great flexibility in reaching the final plan. MKSK chose Carbon Black, Landmark Gray, and Ivory Bay City Line pavers to modernize the design and create visual continuity of existing hardscapes.

MKSK worked with the paver manufacturer to develop custom details for crosswalk and bikeway markings for an integrated paving pattern that continues across the roadways, providing for an experience of one ample space. Rolled curbs provide easy pedestrian navigation during events, and custom paver details provide an elegant, robust, and sustainable paving solution.

The Results
Anchoring the design is a simple yet elegant steel structure called the Centennial Pavilion with an event lawn for approximately 5,000 guests, an integrated stage component, accent LED lighting, a high-definition video screen, and audio/Wi-Fi system. The iconic 65' tall stainless-steel Rotunda sculpture is on axis with the pavilion. Inspired by the rotunda of the original Hall of Fame building, the new rotunda sculpture depicts a football, establishing a space and a memorable landmark for downtown.

Other amenities include a caf???(C)/restroom building with a green roof, an interactive mist garden, a social garden, and various themed garden experiences.
MKSK established a diverse yet straightforward planting palette to reinforce the city's desire for an iconic space while providing four-season use. The tree-lined plaza brings life and vitality to the streets. It is meant to be experienced as a strolling park, connecting visitors to the many experiences, iconic elements, and spaces.

Dense yew masses define the rotunda space, with accents of hicks yew, Calgary carpet, and blue dune grass. In contrast, lush ruby oakleaf hydrangeas, artic fire dogwood, and a dynamic mix of ornamental grasses and groundcover provide contrast to enhance further and complement the attractive landscape.

Centennial Plaza is the first of many projects, including the ongoing multi-phase development of the Johnson Controls Hall of Fame Village, that will help advance the economic and lifestyle opportunities for the people of Canton.

TEAM LIST
Landscape architect, Prime - MKSK
Pavilion and restaurant design architect - Tim Lai Architect
Restaurant architect of record - Sol Harris/Day Architecture
Civil engineer - Atwell LLC
Structural engineer - Arup
Lighting designer - Tec Studio Inc.
Electrical engineer - Tec Inc.