CLEVELAND, Ohio – The sea of brown mud and sand that filled Public Square last fall and earlier this winter is in retreat as construction workers cruise toward completion of a $50 million renovation in time for the Republican National Convention in July.

A tour Monday morning inside the concrete Jersey barriers and chain link surrounding the 10-acre construction site produced multiple déjà vu moments.

That's because the renovated square is coming to resemble the renderings of the project created by the landscape architecture firm of James Corner Field Operations, and vice versa.

Sleek, bone-white concrete benches shaped with futuristic curves gleamed under a surprisingly clear February sky.

Paving blocks made of white Chinese granite, set along pathways in a wavelike double arc pattern, created a visually entrancing rhythm reminiscent of plazas in European cities.

A towering, 15-year-old white oak, planted atop the square's Overlook Hill, stood with its branches still trussed with strips of yellow tape. It established a new high point on the square's northwest corner.

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