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Some residents less than impressed with City Hall Plaza renovation plans

BOSTON — The city of Boston was met with tough critics as it presented plans for a $70 million facelift to City Hall Plaza.

City officials say there's no question City Hall Plaza is that place Bostonians love to hate. After years of work and conversation to not only make it look better but also to make it more usable, some who attended Wednesday's presentation say in their opinion, it's still not good enough.

"It's alright. It's not the greatest," said Raymond Shelene. "Something to spruce it up. Tear it down. Start over again."

Those who attended the visual presentation at City Hall featuring renderings of a $70 million redesign project certainly weren't shy about delivering their critique.

"The shade structure they're proposing is this little dinky thing... it's not impressive," said Betsy Lluch.

The plans would add more than 3,000 new places to sit, create a giant promenade with shaded seating and a water feature.

Michael Bojanowski was not impressed. He and several others in the crowd of about 100 were adamant that the city needs to add a captivating water fountain to the plans.

"Just like the Bellagio. And you turn them off and you can walk right over it," Bojanowski said. "This is a city! We don't need a creek going through like this," another man said.

Boston Mayor Marty Walsh's Chief of Operations Patrick Brophy says pleasing Bostonians is a priority and that every opinion shared will be reviewed.

"The most difficult part of this process has to be getting consensus," he said. "Everyone has an opinion and everybody is entitled to their opinion."

The city says one of the goals of the major facelift is changing the way Boston residents view and use their city government - by making it a more welcoming place. It's built on top of the oldest train tunnel in the country so there are limitations and challenges in the construction, which is expected to get underway next year.

The project is expected to be completed as early as 2023.

>> Here's a look at Boston City Hall Plaza's $70M overhaul