Design and budget plans for the renovation of the Campustown Court area are nearing completion.

“I can see a lot of potential in this project,” said City Councilman Matthew Goodman. “This would be a jump-start for the aesthetic of Campustown.”

Currently, Campustown Court is a small area with concrete benches on the corner of Welch Avenue and Chamberlain Street. Though the space isn’t much to look at right now, that could change if the city’s plan gets approved.

“Really rejuvenating Campustown is a high priority for the council,” said Maggie Luttrell, Government of the Student Body ex-officio City Council liaison and senior in history.

The design is not yet finalized, but the current rendering calls for trees and bed plantings, colored concrete and a small stage area.

“We started working on this last year, and the student society of landscape architects did most of the design work,” said Alex Ayers, deputy director of government relations for GSB and senior in agricultural business. “A lot of the money is going to concrete and labor costs, but those costs are always necessary.”

The anticipated cost for this project is slightly less than $65,000.

“The plan is for the city to pay $25,000, the university pays $16,000, and we get the rest,” said Ryan Myers, GSB finance director and graduate student in accounting. “Assuming everyone comes through, this project is paid for.”

The design plans will go before GSB on Wednesday, when final comments will be given and the plan will be either approved or rejected.

“People have been talking about a ‘one community’ effort for a few years now,” Myers said. “With this particular space, it’s a good way for the university and the city to reach out to each other. It’s a middle ground for both, and they want to make it look extra nice, for lack of a better word.”

GSB President Brian Phillips said that developers initially wanted the project to be finished by Veishea 2008. However, the lengthy process of obtaining estimates has set the project back to summer 2008.

“I think they would like to start construction in the summer,” Myers said.

Ayers said the design would reflect the efforts of the funding parties – city and university – to reach out to each other.

“It’s planned that the colored concrete is in a checkerboard, with one side being mostly Cyclone colors, and then changing to the city’s green and blue colors,” he said.

“It really incorporates both of them into the design, since this is kind of the place where city and university meet.”

Goodman said that, even though this project might be good for the aesthetic of the area, it’s a little too early to say anything for sure.

“We don’t know too much about the project as of yet,” he said. “This is the only gathering area in Campustown, but if the project doesn’t happen, the world won’t end.”

– Daily Staff Writer Rebecca Carton contributed to this article.