Six months into construction, the $40-million renovation of the Music Center's central plaza is now in full swing.

The project, which quietly began construction in January, is being redesigned by Rios Clementi Hale Studios as a new front door to the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion and Mark Taper Forum.

Plans call for widening and flattening its Grand Avenue entrance to open the space to Grand Park, thereby doubling its capacity to 5,000 people.  Standalone buildings are also being added to the space, with offerings that will include a restaurant, a coffee house, and a wine bar.

The Jacques Lipchitz-designed Peace on Earth sculpture, currently located at the middle of the plaza, will be relocated elsewhere on the site.

Completion of the renovation is anticipated in Spring 2019.