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The public offered opinions, an East Coast landscape architect and a West Coast artist contributed ideas, and now it’s time to find out if the plans for remaking Nollen Plaza are doable.

“We’re in the process of exploring the feasibility of fund raising,” said Erin Olson-Douglas, who was hired by the city of Des Moines in July as an urban designer. “Only through that experience will we really understand if and when the timing makes sense.”

Olson-Douglas recently presented the overall concept for the site to the Downtown Council, as part of what has been a modest effort to get the word out.

“Just a handful of presentations have been made,” said Jeff Chelesvig, president and CEO of the Civic Center of Greater Des Moines and a leader in the Nollen Plaza effort. “This hasn’t really been discussed publicly. We thought it was best to wait until after the election and the holidays.”

So it will probably be January when the Des Moines-based Renaissance Group Inc. takes the plan to key community leaders – and potential donors – to get their reaction. “The heart of what we’re testing is: Do they buy the vision, and do they support it strongly enough to make it a reality?” said David Hoeksema, president of Renaissance Group.

The working plans include a “Civic Gate” structure that would function as a waterfall in the warm months and as an ice “sculpture” in the depths of winter; a “media cube” displaying an “interactive video artwork” on the exterior walls and also enclosing public restrooms; a revision of the existing grove of trees; a fire hearth surrounded by seating; and an open plaza in the midst of it all.

Olson-Douglas told the Downtown Council that the landmark “Crusoe Umbrella” sculpture will remain at the northeast corner of the one-square-block site, as will the diagonal line now defined by a low wall behind the fountain and pool. That line runs directly east and west, in contrast with downtown’s street grid, which aligns with the Des Moines River.

“We want to remove the wall and the sunken area to make the plaza open and ‘porous,'” Olson-Douglas said.

The plaza was originally designed to complement the Civic Center, which was completed in 1979. “In 30 years, we’ve learned what works and what doesn’t,” Chelesvig said. “Certain pieces we’re going to have to address; the question is, do you make an investment in something you may not use in a few years? It’s very clear to me that Nollen Plaza has a special place in the hearts of Iowans. With all the great things going on downtown, it’s really time to address the long-term plans for the plaza.”

Hoeksema said Renaissance Group will conduct confidential interviews with 35 to 45 people and companies who are likely contributors to the project. The city owns the site, but City Manager Rick Clark indicated a year ago that any renovation would require both public and private money.

If the feasibility study finds sufficient support to move forward on the project, Olson-Douglas said, a year of fund raising would be followed by a year of construction.

Initial design work has been done by Ken Smith Landscape Architects of New York City and San Francisco artist Jim Campbell.

Smith is a native Iowan who has operated his own business in New York since 1992. Chelesvig said the annual trip to New York City for Civic Center donors will include the option of visiting a couple of Smith’s projects there.

Campbell, a Chicago native, has a technical background in engineering and an artistic background in filmmaking. He combines those disciplines to create video installations like the proposed media cube.