Petra’s Place to finish in early April

FAIRFIELD - Petra Place's in Fairfield is just a few weeks from being finished.

The downtown park, featuring raised planter boxes, trellises and a pergola, is located south of the Fairfield Arts & Convention Center at the corner of North Main Street and West Briggs Avenue.

Fairfield City Engineer Melanie Carlson said the contractor, Ferris Construction of Des Moines, will add tables and chairs to the park in the next couple of weeks that will allow for outdoor dining. She expects the project to be done in early April.

The idea for this park came from Fairfield resident Alex Stanley, who sought a way to honor his late wife, Petra, who died of cancer in 2016. Petra Stanley attended Maharishi International University and was on its board of trustees. Alex Stanley decided to purchase an empty lot from Ross Walker, and donate it to the city on the condition the city maintain it as a park. This lot was empty because the building that once stood there, the Tribune Building, collapsed in 2014.

Stanley said Tuesday he is not planning to hold a grand opening for the park. He said the appearance of the park matched his original vision, though he was displeased with the pace of construction. Carlson said the project is finishing about a year later than expected.

Once finished, the park will have two wheelchair accessible entrances, movable tables and chairs, heavy enough to make theft unlikely, a bronze sculpture in the center, and a railing for ballet, a tribute to Petra's interest in it.