Harrington Park has been behind construction fencing since April. Through December, every event San Carlos holds downtown is planned around that gap. The Goblin Walk is tomorrow, Diwali Downtown comes in mid-November, and the Night of Holiday Lights follows in early December. All three take place on Laurel Street itself. With the park closed, the street is already working as the pedestrian plaza that the city's Streetscape Master Plan describes. That plaza has a name and an approved design. It has no construction date.
The fence, by the numbers
The City of San Carlos closed Harrington Park at 753 Laurel St. on April 6, 2026, and held the groundbreaking on May 8. City Council awarded the construction contract to Azul Works, Inc. According to the city's Harrington Park FAQ, the award was $5.2 million, compared with an engineer's estimate of $5 million. With up to $1 million in contingency and about $1 million for construction management, outreach, and design support, the total comes to roughly $7.2 million. The city says it received one bid through a competitive process and negotiated the price down to 3.7% above the estimate.
The finished park will have a multipurpose plaza, a building with restrooms and storage, public seating, a rain garden, and a grove of trees. The restrooms will be two all-gender rooms. One is ADA accessible and has a universal changing station. The design removes ten existing trees and plants eight new ones in the park plus two along Laurel. The memorial bricks will be reinstalled.
The city's Downtown Revitalization page still lists completion as "early 2027." Its construction-update field, last refreshed September 30, reads "No Updates." Crews work 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on weekdays and reach the site through the alley behind Laurel, entering from Cherry and Olive. The project plan also calls for removing four public parking spaces behind the park to make room for a new drop-off and loading zone.
How the street absorbed the park's job
The changes along the block have come one at a time since spring. Taken together, they show the block being run as a plaza.
The San Carlos Farmers' Market had used a curbside "promenade" layout since 2021. This spring, after feedback from downtown businesses, the city, the Urban Village Farmers' Market Association, and fire officials moved the vendor booths away from the curbs. Vendors also expanded into the Wheeler Plaza parking lot, and Cherry Street reopened to traffic and parking. According to the city's market listing, the market still runs on Sundays from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. The Urban Village 2026 calendar shows it running year-round, rain or shine. Its only scheduled San Carlos closure for 2026 was Art & Wine Faire weekend, which has already passed.
Balancing Act, the blue sculpture people know from the park, moved to Laurel and Cherry in early May.
Adirondack chairs went up on Laurel after Hometown Days in May, and the city added more in August.
Life on Laurel nights brought cornhole, checkers, Connect 4, and Jenga to the 700 block in August. Downtown yoga followed on September 18, more games on September 25, and an obstacle-course fitness session with KO Fitness on October 1.
The Hometown Days parade went ahead in May even with an open storm-drain trench across Laurel. The Harrington Park construction team covered it with steel plates for the May 16–17 weekend. During the week of September 28, the city installed two informational boards on the 700 block, one in the raised planter near Diddams and one near U.S. Bank. On October 8, about 50 downtown business and property owners attended an 8 a.m. listening session at West Park Bistro for a construction update.
Each of these changes was made to work around the construction. Together, they make the 700 block a public room with seating, programming, and a market laid out to keep storefronts visible. That is close to how the Master Plan describes the block.
The fall calendar, all on pavement
None of the remaining 2026 events needs the park. Here is the schedule from the city's event pages:
| Date | Event | Time | Where on Laurel | Details |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fri, Oct 30 | Goblin Walk | 4:00–5:30 p.m. | San Carlos Ave to Arroyo Ave | First 600 trick-or-treaters get a bag at the Parks & Recreation tent or from a volunteer |
| Every Sunday | Farmers' Market | 9 a.m.–1 p.m. | 600 Laurel, extending into Wheeler Plaza lot | Open over holiday weekends, though some vendors may be absent |
| Sat, Nov 14 | Diwali Downtown | 11 a.m.–2 p.m. | Laurel Street | Kathakaars School of Dance, San Carlos Sitaras, music, crafts, food from local chefs |
| Fri, Dec 4 | Night of Holiday Lights | 5:00–8:30 p.m. | San Carlos Ave to Cherry St, main stage on Cherry | Wild Child 6:30–8:30 p.m., snow, Santa, the Snow Queen |
For the Goblin Walk, children 7 and under need an adult with them. Look for Goblin Walk signs in shop windows, since those are the businesses handing out candy. The Diwali Downtown page says more performers will be announced. Separately, the Adult Community Center has its own Diwali event on Friday, November 6, from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
The Night of Holiday Lights has the fullest lineup. Emcees Lori & RJ open at 5 p.m., followed by community youth groups and a Stevie Wonder tribute, with Wild Child closing the night. Beer and wine, hot chocolate, holiday treats, kids' crafts, and a holiday show are also on the program. The current program page doesn't give a location for a tree lighting. Check the page closer to December 4 before planning around one.
Look at where the main stage sits. The Night of Holiday Lights uses Laurel between San Carlos Avenue and Cherry and puts the stage on Cherry Street, outside the fenced park. That is a full evening event with a headline act on the street grid, the same kind of event the Master Plan expects the finished block to host.
What the plan says the block becomes
The Downtown Streetscape Master Plan, adopted April 28, 2025, describes the 700 block this way:
"Building on the permanent closure of the 700 block of Laurel Street, the Plan defines a pedestrian plaza extending the entire span of the 700 block of Laurel Street with a wide pedestrian promenade meandering from side to side between groves of flowering trees and raingardens. The plaza is curbless from building face to building face, allowing outdoor dining tables ample room in front of restaurants."
The plan places a central space at mid-block, informally called "Centennial Plaza." It would mark the entry to the redesigned Harrington Park as a formal event space, with a water feature as its centerpiece. Retractable bollards at Laurel and Cherry and at Laurel and Olive would control access during events. The 600 and 800 blocks would become curbless shared streets for pedestrians, cyclists, and cars.
On October 14, 2025, City Council adopted Resolution No. 2025-115, approving the final design for the 700 block. That design includes new paving, rain gardens, trees, custom benches, a multipurpose pavilion, lighting, bike parking, and drinking fountains. The water feature's centerpiece will go through its own public engagement process.
The gap between the fence and the plaza
Harrington Park is Phase 1. The 700-block plaza is listed as Phase 1B, to be followed by the 600 block, San Carlos Avenue, alley parking, and later the 800 block. City Council keeps final say over the order. An earlier San Mateo Daily Journal report said work on the rest of the 700 block was expected to start in 2027. The city's own Downtown Plan site now says construction documents are still being prepared, construction depends on available funding and Council direction, and "the construction schedule for the 700 Block of Laurel Street has not yet been determined."
The cost estimate shows why. The Master Plan's draft cost table puts all phases at $118.5 million. It lists grants, federal infrastructure money, and municipal bonds as possible funding sources, none of them secured. The roughly $7.2 million Harrington Park project is a small part of that total. So when the fence comes down in early 2027, the new park will most likely open onto the same block it faces now, with Adirondack chairs, temporary games, and booths set back from the curb, until the plaza is funded.
Who is betting on the block now
New businesses are arriving before the plaza does. Zac's Bar & Grill opened September 1 at 1748 El Camino Real, in the space that used to be Office Bar & Grill. Palo Alto Online reported that owners Zaki Massis and Btool Nazerial are open daily from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m., and that Massis hopes to add trivia nights and eventually karaoke. WhatNow reported that Casa Mia, a breakfast and casual-dining concept, is headed to 677 Laurel St., Suite B. No opening date has been announced.
Casa Mia's address is on the 600 block, the next block in line for a curbless redesign under the plan. For now, the people deciding what downtown San Carlos becomes are the ones using Laurel on Sunday mornings and Friday nights, while the city waits on funding.
At Mariana Ryd +Co., we follow downtown projects like Harrington Park and Centennial Plaza because they change how a neighborhood works from day to day long before the work is finished. If you're wondering how San Carlos's downtown plans might affect your home or a renovation you're considering, request a complimentary home valuation and renovation consultation.
