In the shadow of the rising Devon tower’s worksite lies another construction zone for a project that will provide a sharp contrast to the gleaming, steel and glass monolith.

The $38 million renovation to the Myriad Botanical Gardens is under way and on track for completion by 2011, gardens manager Allan Storjohann said. The first major phase, renovations to the outdoor grounds, should be finished in time for the Festival of the Arts next spring.

“The big goal is to make the garden a more user-friendly, more accessible place with more events and a better place for the downtown worker and the downtown resident,” Storjohann said.

Improvements to the Crystal Bridge Tropical Conservatory should be finished by the fall, but it won’t be open to the public until spring at the earliest because of ongoing construction surrounding it, Storjohann said.

“We’re putting a new acrylic shell on it, so it will essentially be what it was like when it was first built in 1985,” he said.

Among the renovations and additions to the gardens are a children’s zone, a leash-free area for dogs, improved navigability, increased seating at the outdoor theater and new indoor attractions.

Pictures and artists’ renderings of what the renovated gardens will look like are displayed on boards surrounding the construction site.

Read the article in The Oklahoman.