Where did downtown San Carlos go when Harrington Park closed? The park at 753 Laurel Street, between Cherry and Olive, was scheduled to close for construction on April 6, 2026. It is still behind protective fencing, and the city's project page lists completion as "early 2027." The Palo Alto Daily Post reported in late September that construction is expected to continue into next spring. Either way, the whole fall and holiday season on Laurel will take place next to a closed park.
Downtown didn't stop. It moved one block, to Wheeler Plaza and the Cherry Street edge of Laurel. That is the same edge where the city's long-range plan would start a car-free plaza. Much of this season's calendar now happens where the next phase of downtown is supposed to go.
The clearest sign is the Sunday market. The San Carlos Farmers' Market runs year-round on Sundays, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., on Laurel between Cherry Street and San Carlos Avenue. The Urban Village Farmers' Market Association manages it. Since 2021 it had used a curbside "promenade" layout. In May the city repositioned the booths away from the curbs after downtown businesses asked for better visibility. Vendors also expanded into the Wheeler Plaza parking lot, which let Cherry Street reopen to traffic and parking.
Wheeler Plaza has also hosted the year's big crowd events. In April, a Silent Disco there went ahead in the rain. Earth Day turned the plaza and Laurel Street into a sustainability fair the same month. In June, about 500 fans gathered at Wheeler Plaza for the city's watch party of the USA's World Cup opener against Paraguay, many carrying takeout from downtown restaurants. A second watch party for USA vs. Bosnia & Herzegovina followed.
The parking lot has been doing the job of a town square because the space built for that job is closed.
The small changes on Laurel point the same way. In early May the city moved Balancing Act, the juggling blue man sculpture, out of the construction zone. It now stands near Laurel and Cherry. The city's FAQ puts the new spot at the northern end of the 700 block.
Adirondack chairs went in along Laurel after Hometown Days in May, and more were added on August 18. During the week of September 28, the city installed two information boards on the 700 block. One sits in the raised planter near Diddams and the other near U.S. Bank, showing renderings of the finished park.
Even the parade adapted. When Hometown Days came through on May 16 and 17, the construction team covered a trench on Laurel with steel plates for the weekend so the parade could pass safely.
Crews work 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday. Short off-hours work for utility connections is possible with advance notice. Diwali Downtown falls on a Saturday and Night of Holiday Lights starts at 5 p.m., so both happen outside crew hours. The Goblin Walk starts at 4 p.m. on a Friday, so it overlaps the last hour of the workday. Here is where each event sits relative to the park:
Night of Holiday Lights shows the new layout most clearly. The festival runs up Laurel and stops at Cherry, and the stage sits on Cherry at the edge of the fenced block. The city's event page lists emcees Lori & RJ, Wild Child from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m., the Tide Note Singers, San Carlos Children's Theater, Peninsula Lively Arts and the Tap Dancing Christmas Trees. It also lists snow, hot chocolate and appearances by Santa Claus and the Snow Queen. The Parks & Recreation Department presents the event with the Parks and Recreation Foundation of San Carlos. The lineup is as the city announced it and could still change before December.
The city committed to keeping Laurel Street storefronts open throughout construction. Construction vehicles are barred from Laurel and reach the site only through the alley behind it, Cowgill Alley, entering and leaving from Cherry and Olive. To keep the alley clear, contractors park in the SamTrans garage and stage equipment off-site. The four short-term spaces behind the park are becoming a drop-off and loading zone.
Two businesses sit directly next to the park: Mama Coco's and Faith & Spirits. The city contacted their owners before the April closure. The San Mateo Daily Journal's coverage of the city's planning named the same two as the most affected. It listed ideas such as employee parking permits, promoting the Wheeler Plaza garage, rear-entry banners and activities in the construction zone. Councilmember Neil Layton said the support would need to be "very fluid." At a March coffee chat held in the park before it closed, owners and staff from Faith & Spirits, Mama Coco Cocina, Town, Spasso and Stamp Bar & Grill raised employee parking, enforcement, signage in the parking garages, and having a bigger role in downtown events.
Some of that has already happened. In June, the Adult Community Center's Lunch Bunch, run with the Friends of the San Carlos Adult Community Center, chose Mama Coco's for its monthly outing, right next to the construction. The Farmers' Market layout change came directly from business feedback. The Downtown Prosperity Team, formed in November 2025, coordinates this support work.
The finished park is designed to hold some of the gatherings that Wheeler Plaza has been absorbing. The city's FAQ lists a multi-purpose plaza for events, a new building with public restrooms and storage for city programs, seating for relaxing or dining, and a rain garden with a tree grove for shade. There will be two all-gender public restrooms. One is ADA accessible and has a universal changing station designed for all ages.
The council approved removing 10 trees. A city arborist found they had an aphid infestation and were leaking sticky sap. Eight new trees will go into the park and two onto Laurel Street. Some of the old plantings are still around town. Two crepe myrtles were replanted near the Burton Park playground, and camellias went to Burton Park and the City Hall dog park. Underground, Silva Cells installed in June give the new trees room for roots and filter stormwater. All of the park's memorial bricks will be reinstalled near the end of construction. The new layout also leaves room for more.
The cost has been public. The city's FAQ puts the engineer's estimate at $5 million and the construction contract with Azul Works at $5.2 million. It also lists a contingency of up to $1 million and roughly $1 million more for construction management, outreach and design services. The contract went out for competitive bids, and Azul Works submitted the only bid. The Daily Post reported about $1.67 million of the bid for the restroom building and $1.25 million for a decorative wooden canopy.
Harrington Park is phase one. The next phase covers the rest of the 700 block of Laurel, and the city says it has not set a timeline. The design the council adopted on October 14, 2025 is Centennial Plaza. It would be a pedestrian plaza with new paving, rain gardens, trees, seating, a pavilion and lighting, and its construction schedule depends on funding and council direction. The streetscape plan calls for the 700 block to become pedestrian-only. The 600 and 800 blocks would keep one traffic lane in each direction. On the November ballot, Measure G proposes a half-cent sales tax increase. The Daily Post reports it would generate about $6 million a year for projects that include downtown revitalization.
For now, the stage on Cherry, the market stalls in Wheeler Plaza and the blue man at the corner show roughly where that plaza would start. The city's Downtown Revitalization page posts each construction update as it happens.
Construction like this changes how a downtown block feels for buyers and owners over a period of months, and Laurel Street is in the middle of that now. If you own a home within walking distance of Laurel and want to understand how the Harrington Park work and the planned Centennial Plaza affect its value, the Anagnostou Team can walk you through it. Request a Home Valuation.
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