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The city will open the State Street Public Plaza at 1-7 State St. on Wednesday, Aug. 3, with the first in a weekly series of concerts. Folk rock jug band Nuclear Ukulele will perform at the new outdoor space that evening, followed by Jim Van Arsdale and Connie Patti on Aug. 10, Tommy and Vinny the Jukebox Duo on Aug. 17, Sydney Irving on Aug. 24 and Honky Tonk Hindooz on Aug. 31.

A ribbon-cutting ceremony for the $1.4 million plaza will also be held by the city's Department of Planning & Economic Development at 3 p.m. Friday, Aug. 12. The plaza, and accompanying upgrades to State Street, were supported by $1 million from the city's Downtown Revitalization Initiative聽state grant, $400,000 from a city bond ordinance聽and $171,114 from the Emerson Foundation.

The opening of the plaza will conclude the saga of a property that since 2011 has been a prominent hole in the ground of downtown Auburn.

The last structure that stood there, the Kalet's department store, was demolished that year to make way for a performing arts venue. Three years later, the project was canceled by developers Cayuga Community College and the Finger Lakes Musical Theatre Festival (now The Rev Theatre Company) due to repeated legal by lawyer Joseph Camardo, a neighboring property owner.聽

Since then, the property has sat vacant and walled off, hosting only gravel and overgrowth. But as soon as the city聽reacquired the property in 2015, it began聽working to redevelop that hole in the ground.

As Auburn officials navigated the possibility of continued legal challenges by Camardo, the city sought the public's say in the property's future. An outdoor space was the most popular idea, said Renee Jensen, a senior planner with the Department of Planning & Economic Development. To design the space, the city contracted with architectural firm Bergmann Associates, of Rochester.

Many of the ideas Bergmann designed into the plaza came from the public, Jensen said. Groups like Blueprint II, a local youth service program, suggested USB ports in the benches for charging devices. Another suggestion was the life-sized, stained concrete checkerboard in the plaza's center. The city is looking into securing life-sized chess and checkers pieces to go with it, Jensen added.

"It's particularly impressive," she said of the checkerboard. "It's just really unique and different."

The rest of the plaza was designed for easy pedestrian use, Jensen said. Whether they want to sit and read or downtown workers want to have a scenic lunch, the space will accommodate them. Small pieces of the property were sold to neighboring owners for similar uses, like caf茅 seating for A.T. Walley & Co. and patio space for R&M Real Estate Group. Camardo will use his piece for parking.

The August concert series is the only programming the city has planned at the plaza for now, Jensen said, but there will likely be more. She could also see the space being used for events not organized by the city, such as CNY TomatoFest. After watching downtown Auburn's hole in the ground become something that existed only on paper for years, it's not hard to imagine the possibilities.

"Seeing it on paper is one thing, but seeing it in person is a whole other feeling," Jensen said. "It looks absolutely amazing."