After months of delays and construction challenges, Steven L. Schainker Plaza is expected to open to the public on Monday. Most construction work is finished, but a few repairs and state approval remain before the public can use the new downtown attraction just east of Ames City Hall. However, city staff are still optimistic that the north and east portions of the project, including the building and splash pad area, will be ready for visitors.

Ames residents will have to wait a little longer to splash around the new downtown plaza. Schainker Plaza will not open until the splash pad passes a state inspection and all construction problems are fixed.

After years of delays, broken concrete and growing frustration, Ames officials and the contractor who is building Schainker Plaza finally struck a deal to fix the troubled downtown project and get it open to the public in two stages by the end of 2026.