Since 2014, a proposed plaza and streetscape redevelopment has been in the works for Chicago’s Uptown. At the State of Uptown luncheon May 4, 46th Alderman James Cappleman told attendees the long-awaited Broadway Streetscape plan would be underway this year.

Continually pushed back since its introduction, the Broadway Streetscape plan features both major and minor improvements to the streets, sidewalks, curbs, lighting, and trees. The plan also features a pedestrian-friendly plaza outside of the Riviera Theatre inspired by the Milwaukee Avenue and Division Street intersection in Wicker Park and the Rush Street and State Street intersection in Gold Coast.

The plan aims to improve the entertainment district of Uptown.

"To help us get in that direction, looking at the big picture, we need to set the stage for it, and doing the streetscape will be part of that process," Cappleman said in the meeting. The proposed outdoor plaza by the Riviera Theatre would host summer concerts and festivals, serving as a “gateway” to the venue.

The project is slated to make Clifton a pedestrian-friendly street between Lawrence Avenue and Broadway Street. The entire streetscape along Broadway from Gunnison Street to Wilson Avenue, as well as Lawrence between Broadway and Winthrop Avenue, will get a makeover.

Uptown is also home to the Wilson Station Reconstruction Project, which is briefly covered in the original 2014 plan for Broadway's revitalization. The city announced the $203 million project is 75 percent complete as of the first week in May. DNAinfo reported the updates are intended to be completed by the end of the year.

"When the Wilson project is finished ... it will offer the Uptown neighborhood a modern 21st century station that will serve as a transfer point for both the Red Line and Purple Line trains,” Chicago Transit Authority President Dorval Carter Jr. told the publication.