Merced Mayor Matthew Serratto and other city officials have been saying the same thing for some time: 2025 is going to be a really big year for the city.
“A lot of things we have been working on for the last few years — the planning and funding — all this stuff is going to come to fruition this year,” Mayor Serratto has told the local media.
He’s been talking about a series of revitalization projects, including the Bob Hart Square Extension Project that started construction late last week with fencing and the removal of pavement and dirt along a stretch from Main Street to 16th Street.
There’s also the Main Street One-Way Project (a new downtown road configuration and additional parking) expected to start “relatively soon,” a new passenger terminal almost completed at the Merced Airport, a new Hilton Garden Inn wrappping up in the Campus Parkway Plaza, and the ongoing Community Park 42 and Sports Complex development in southeast Merced that’s expected to host soccer games perhaps by late summer or fall.
And did you see the new Welcome to Merced monument taking shape along Highway 99?
The “Merced Gateway Welcome Monument Installation Project” is underway, bringing two monument signs to Highway 99, courtesy of Caltrans state grant funding. One sign has been placed southbound, facing Mission Avenue near the Campus Parkway offramp, and the other will be positioned northbound, facing the 16th Street exit. City leaders say these new gateway monuments will enhance the city’s visibility and create a welcoming entrance to Merced for both residents and visitors. Caltrans has also installed smaller welcome signs on wooden posts near city entrance points along State Routes 140 and 59.
Bob Hart Square
The Bob Hart Square Expansion Project is expected to transform the heart of downtown with a new outdoor plaza featuring a stage, a concrete arch, and bench seating. Additional improvements include infrastructure upgrades, such as water main replacements, new storm drains and inlets, enhanced landscaping, and electrical updates.
City officials expect the enhancements “to create a more inviting and vibrant space for community gatherings, performances, and events — further enriching our downtown experience.”
Funding for the project, estimated to cost around $1.3 million, came from federal ARPA dollars that were directed for use by the Merced City Council.
Construction is expected to be completed by August, and in the meantime, some inconveniences are being experienced by patrons and operators of shops and restaurants that line Bob Hart Square. Destino’s Restaurant lost an outdoor seating area; however, it’s expected to be reinstalled by the city when the city project is completed. A walkway between Main Street and the 16th Street parking lots has been narrowed considerably. Vehicle entry to the parking lots are now limited to two locations, but by project completion, new entryways will be completed directly along 16th. The Saturday Farmers Market still has room behind 510 Bistro for the weekly event, though one of the market’s signs was briefly taken down by construction workers, only to be put back up after vendors notified the city.
Nevertheless, all shops, restaurants and parking lots remain open in the downtown core during the expansion project.
“Some things will be tough as the renovation goes on,” said Robert Matsuo, the owner of 510 Bistro at Bob Hart Square, “Parking and transportation for our delivery trucks are a little tough right now. But I think the new park is going to be gorgeous. I think it is going to totally help downtown, and bring more business here. And I think it’s going to be great for events, like the Downtown Mercado and the Christmas Parade. You are going to be able to do different things in this new space.”
A few years ago, during the planning stage of the Bob Hart Square project, Diana Odom Gunn of the Merced Downtown Neighborhood Association had the same feeling: “The redesign of Bob Hart Square will accommodate bigger and better community events to unify residents throughout the city. We have outgrown the Square. The crowd cannot get close enough to see Santa after the Christmas Parades, for example.”
Kickoff celebration
Coming up, residents and leaders will be able to celebrate the start of the new renovations during a kickoff event tentatively planned for March 11 at 8:30 a.m., according to Times sources.
Stay tuned for more details on that!