PR1040: Water Tower Plaza Repair/Upgrades

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CURRENT PHASE: CONSTRUCTION
Project Timeline: January 2024 - Winter 2024

Progress Bar 75 Percent

Gilbert’s Heritage District is looking to the future and will be making infrastructure and design improvements to create a connected and vibrant Downtown. As a part of this effort, we want to create an updated vision for Water Tower Plaza.

Significant underground infrastructure repairs are needed at the Water Tower Plaza. Our teams have found that the underground infrastructure is outdated, and many replacement parts are no longer available. During the construction closure, crews will be making necessary concrete repairs requiring the removal of many of the current park amenities.

As a result, Water Tower Plaza will reopen with the following new enhancements:

Shaded, water-efficient splash pad
New restroom facilities
Event lawn
Recirculated water wall
Shaded picnic grove
Integrated seating
Landscaping and lighting improvement

See the entire new design for the plaza.

Construction began on January 8th, 2024 and the park will reopen on December 16th, 2024. Learn more about the grand reopening event!

Previous Phases

Design: November 2022- January 2024

After collaboration with architects, the community and town council, Water Tower Plaza will reopen with the following new enhancements:

Shaded, water-efficient splash pad
New restroom facilities
Event lawn
Recirculated water wall
Shaded picnic grove
Integrated seating
Landscaping and lighting improvements

Check out the final designs.

Community Input: August 2022 - November 2022

Gilbert Parks and Recreation hosted a survey to gather resident input on the amenities residents want to see in the future of the park. With over 3,000 responses, the results show the following amenities being the most important to our community.

Shaded picnic area
Restrooms
Grassy area for events
Food truck connections
Shaded splash pad

Our architects took this feedback and created concept plans for the area. Several open house style meetings were held at the University Building to present these plans and make adjustments as needed.

About the Project

Water Tower Plaza has become a beloved amenity in the Heritage District since it opened in 2008. As home to Gilbert’s iconic Water Tower, favorite lunchtime breaks, and many special events we know there have been countless memories made in the plaza.

As with any aging amenity, maintenance and improvements are required. In recent years, we closed the splash pad to repair some of its infrastructure but that was only one piece of the puzzle. The underground infrastructure of the plaza needs to be replaced which means the above ground amenities will need to be removed.

While this construction will provide necessary improvements, Gilbert is focused on providing the experience and amenities the community has enjoyed most.

Frequently Asked Questions

Will the Water Tower Lightings continue during construction?

Lighting requests may not approved for the time period of December 1, 2023 through October 31, 2024 as the Water Tower Plaza construction will limit the ability to accommodate requests.

Will construction impact the Gilbert Farmer's Market?

No, the Gilbert Farmer's Market will and always has, taken place in the park and ride lot next to the Water Tower and will not be impacted by this project.

What about events that happen in the plaza like the Art Walk or Concerts in the Park?

The Gilbert Art Walk will move west of the Park and Ride lot. See map.

Concerts in the Park will move to the Heritage Marketplace behind Barrio Queen.

What is the timeline for reconstruction of Water Tower Plaza?

Construction will be from January 2024 - Winter2024.

What is the need for this project? Water Tower Plaza seems fine to me.

The original Water Tower Plaza was constructed in 2007. Our teams have found that many replacement parts are no longer available for this outdated system. The infrastructure underground for the water features has undergone wear and tear over the years and needs replacement. During construction, all concrete and some above ground amenities in the park will be temporarily removed anyway.

Is Gilbert thinking about Water with this new design?

Water is always top of mind. Water Tower Plaza uses recirculated and sanitized water for all features and uses less water than the average residential swimming pool. Any improvements will only increase our water efficiency in the future. Learn more.

Water Tower Plaza

Gilbert, Arizona

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PR1040: Water Tower Plaza Repair/Upgrades

CURRENT PHASE: CONSTRUCTION
Project Timeline: January 2024 - Winter 2024

CURRENT PHASE: CONSTRUCTION Project Timeline: January 2024 - Winter 2024

CURRENT PHASE: CONSTRUCTION
Project Timeline: January 2024 - Winter 2024