The unfinished renovation of Copley Square Park, which has been ongoing since 2023, has already been met with mixed reviews from residents.

The project was originally slated to be completed by the end of 2024, but the city extended the deadline to April of 2025, anticipating the Boston Marathon.

The deadline has since been extended to September, and subsequently to the end of 2025. The current budget sits at $18.9 million, more than double the original estimated budget of $7.5 million in 2021.

“It’s premature to jump to definitive conclusions until we see the definitive outcome,” said Martyn Roetter, chair of the Neighborhood Association of the Back Bay, which was involved in the planning of the Copley Square redesign.

“The mayor said that this design is a result of endless numbers of community engagements and questions and surveys, which is kind of true. However, I can confirm that certainly NABB was opposed to this particular design. We would’ve preferred much more of a repair and restore operation.”

The opened section of the park currently features a wide concrete “event space,” as described on the project webpage of Sasaki, the consulting firm hired to complete the redesign.

“ We did not have a space for public gatherings, like a block party, or the Boston Marathon setup, or the farmer’s market, or different demonstrations,” said Meg Mainzer-Cohen, the president of the Back Bay Association. Any events hosted on the grass at Copley, or along the Commonwealth Ave. Mall, she said, caused a lot of harm to the grass and were not sustainable.

“The plans for Copley Square had to do with having more hardscape, so that the city could host different events that would not do any harm to the grass. I did have the opportunity, when the farmer’s market moved into the new park, to really notice how well that works. I think it’s really creating a great public space.”

But residents are still unsure about having events be the focus of the space. “We don’t want it to turn into a smaller version of City Hall Plaza,” Roetter said. Sasaki, the consulting firm, also redesigned City Hall Plaza, which completed construction in 2022.

The city has also opened the “raised grove” section to the left of the plaza in Copley Square, which is a slightly higher gray concrete space that houses 10 trees and wooden benches along the sides.

The rest of the park, which is still blocked off, will include a small lawn in front of Trinity Church, and concrete paths cutting diagonally across to streamline foot traffic. The original Copley Square Plaza fountain will be preserved.

“Many residents and visitors have expressed appreciation for how the space is functioning,” a spokesperson for the Parks Department said in an email, pointing specifically to the success of the farmer’s market. “At the same time, some community members have shared that they’d like to see more green space in the park. We hear and value that feedback, and we’re excited that the final phase of the project, which includes an expanded lawn area near Trinity Church and the renovation of the iconic fountain, will directly address that need.”