A public meeting will be held May 6 from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the Marvin Williams Recreation Center in Bremerton regarding the upcoming Quincy Square project, which will honor the renowned record producer and former Bremerton resident Quincy Jones.

Project staff will be on hand to showcase the current design with loads of graphics and new information to share. In addition to gathering reactions and feedback, project staff would also like to get ideas from the public on how to honor Jones.

The concept for improving 4th Street from Pacific Avenue to Washington Avenue was developed over the past several years by a grass roots consortium of citizens, professional groups and developers. The vision for the block is to revitalize the street into an active, house-based, day-to-night urban center with focused arts, entertainment and evening-centric retail spaces, a press release from the City of Bremerton reads.

The concept builds on the revitalization of downtown that has been happening block by block over the last two decades to encourage increased density and housing in the downtown area. Bremerton has secured two grants for the design, including a federal Community Development Block Grant in the amount of $250,000 and a $300,000 direct appropriation from the State Legislature.

Quincy Jones has affirmed his support for the project, writing a letter to Bremerton Mayor Greg Wheeler in January.

“Bremerton has always held a special place in my heart as it was where I first discovered what would be my life’s passion, music,” the letter read. “As such, I would be honored and humbled to have my name grace the city’s new downtown district. I want to thank the city leaders and residents for this gracious recognition and I look forward to visiting your newly restored downtown district, Quincy Square, when it is completed.”

Last year, the City of Bremerton selected Rice Fergus Miller Architects, a local firm, to complete plans for the project. The City negotiated and executed a contract with RFM and design commenced in late September. A public meeting was held in December of 2018 and the design team integrated comments received at that meeting into the project design. The current design will be presented at the May 6 meeting.

Design of the project will be complete in December 2019. Project staff is currently working on several fronts to secure construction funding for the 2020 construction season. The current schedule calls for construction during the summer of 2020 with completion of the project before the end of 2020.