CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Designs for a $30 million makeover of downtown Cleveland's Public Square met with general applause, some curiosity and occasional criticism during a Monday night forum with landscape architect James Corner.

A crowd peppered with downtown residents, architects and nonprofit leaders packed into the City Club of Cleveland to hear from Corner, who presented images of a revamped park at downtown's core. His plans call for closing Ontario Street and narrowing Superior Avenue to create a split, 5-acre public space, with a sloping lawn on the north side and a plaza to the south.

The Group Plan Commission, a civic body formed by Mayor Frank Jackson, hopes to see construction start in the fall. Based on that schedule, Public Square would reopen in spring of 2016. Commission leaders are pursuing a range of public and private funding sources for the square and other downtown improvements, a slate of projects with a combined price tag of $60 million to $65 million.

Monday night's discussion was long on design and short on financial details. Corner talked about projects including New York's High Line, Chicago's Millennium Park and Detroit's Campus Martius Park as examples of ways that cities are creating compelling public spaces to encourage people to linger and businesses to invest. The High Line, which Corner co-designed, has become a major tourist attraction.

"These are significant investments that aren't only beautifying, aren't only socially enriching and socially enhancing, but also will boost the economy of the city if not the region," Corner said of remaking Public Square and other spaces downtown. "Because they will be places that attract people, attract tourists and conventioneers who spend money and make the whole thing tick."

Sketches show cars circulating counterclockwise around the square, with buses still traveling on Superior. That street could be closed for special events, such as concerts or pop-up markets.

Statues of city founder Moses Cleaveland and former Mayor Tom Johnson would move to the northern and southern edges of the park, where Ontario now cuts through the square. New paving and lighting would surround the Soldiers' and Sailors' Monument, a Civil War monument stationed on the southeast quadrant of the square. The designs also include more trees, benches, a water feature and a cafe.

Members of the crowd opined about closing Ontario - a step too far, or not far enough, depending on whom you ask. They questioned whether the plan does enough to showcase public transportation. And they queried Corner about whether his plans include bike racks and whether the materials used on the path wrapping the park will be flat enough for people using wheelchairs. Both answers: Yes.

"When we go into the actual construction phase, who will put some thought into the sleeping guests who will be on that side of the building?" asked Theona Simbrat, the general manager of the Renaissance Cleveland Hotel on Public Square.

Corner acknowledged that construction noise is inevitable with any project. "We'll of course do everything with all respect and regard to the people ... around the square," he said.

Jack Bialosky Jr. of Bialosky + Partners Architects described the plan as magnificent and thoughtful. He asked whether Corner has broader aspirations that could be realized with a heftier budget.

"It's a $30 million budgeted park," Corner responded, "and in our current cost estimate we're a hair over that. But we'll bring it to within $30 million. That's what we are designing to, and that's the budget. Could we do more with more? Yes. And I know there's various philanthropic efforts that are afoot and there may indeed be more money coming. And if that happens, that's great. But we're designing the park, and everything I've shown you is designed for the $30 million that we have."

The sharpest comment came from Cuyahoga County Council President C. Ellen Connally, who reminded the crowd that the county controls the Soldiers' and Sailors' Monument. "I don't want to be a naysayer, but I want to make it clear to everyone here that that quadrant of the square where the Soldiers' and Sailors' Monument is belongs to the county," she said.

"We own from curb to curb, and the members of the Soldiers' and Sailors' Monument and the members of County Council are very concerned about preserving the heritage of that monument, and we are not necessarily just going to give up our land from curb to curb," she added. "So I think there has to be additional dialogue. ... We really want to work with you, but you just can't come and move our stuff."

Corner's team met with advocates for the monument this week, as part of ongoing conversations about how to incorporate it into the park. "We love the monument," he told Connally. "We're big fans of the monument. ... We want to work with you. We want to make sure that the monument remains front and center and is treated with respect."

Attorney Anthony Coyne, chairman of the Group Plan Commission, jumped in for the last word at the end of the hour-plus-long event.

"What we're doing is for Clevelanders," he said, touting Corner's plan. "We've created a ... visitor economy somewhat with the convention center. This is for Clevelanders. If the people who visit our city enjoy it, that's great. But this is for Clevelanders."