The Music Center's central plaza has been fenced off, and a $40-million renovation to the 53-year-old space is ready to get away, reports the Los Angeles Daily News.

The remodel, designed by Rios Clementi Hale Studios, is intended to create a new front door to the Music Center - and a functional extension of Grand Park.  Plans call for widening and flattening the plaza's Grand Avenue entrance, relocating thee Jacques Lipchitz-designed Peace on Earth sculpture, and adding escalators.  At completion, the plaza's total capacity will be doubled to 5,000 people.

The Music Center is also adding five standalone buildings to the plaza, including a full-service restaurant, a coffee house, a wine bar, a welcome center and permanent restrooms.

The project was jointly funded by $10 million from the Music Center and $30 million from Los Angeles County.  Completion is expected in Spring 2019.