The last phase of the Market Boulevard Improvement Project started in mid-September. It moved the construction from the railroad tracks to the W. 78th Street intersection, the corner where the Roers Harlow building is expected to open in December. The timing is deliberate. The city calls Market Boulevard one of the main entry points into downtown, carrying about 13,000 vehicles a day. Its northern end is being rebuilt in the same weeks that the old cinema and hotel block turns into apartments with storefronts at street level.
So the detours you'll run into this month are more than a repaving job. They're the final step in rebuilding the corner that downtown Chanhassen now centers on. If you know the sequence, it's easier to plan around.
Where the Closure Sits This Week
The city's September 15 update says Market Boulevard is closed from W. 78th Street to Market Street. The stretch from Market Street south to Highway 5 has reopened. Instead of closing the whole W. 78th intersection, crews are rebuilding it one half at a time so one direction of traffic can keep moving.
Here is the order the city has published:
- Phase 3A, mapped for September 17 through October 7. Eastbound W. 78th Street is closed at Market Boulevard. Westbound stays open on one lane. Market Boulevard north of the intersection stays open for City Hall and the Post Office.
- Phase 3B, after the switch. Eastbound reopens and westbound closes. Market Boulevard north of W. 78th closes too, so you'll reach City Hall and the Post Office from Laredo Drive and Chan View. The city's map says the City Hall garage stays reachable. The Phase 3B map shows an end date of October 28.
- Project completion, targeted for November 2026.
October 7 comes from the planning map. As of October 1, the city hasn't posted a newer update confirming the switch date. Watch the posted signs that week and don't assume the change happened overnight on schedule. The completion target has already moved once. An April update said the work would wrap up "by the end of October," and the current schedule says November.
The contractor is allowed to work Monday through Saturday from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. That means Saturday errands downtown fall inside the work window.
Why the Intersection Was Saved for Last
Phase 3 takes on the hardest piece in the corridor. The city's September 4 update calls it the northern portion of the corridor, including the W. 78th Street intersection, where the traffic signal is being replaced. The plans also add a dedicated right-turn lane at W. 78th.
Phase 3 also picked up work left over from earlier in the year. The section of Phase 1 between Jimmy John's and Wendy's was held up by underground utility conflicts in the spring, and the city moved that work into Phase 3. That's why the work zone now runs past those two storefronts, not just the intersection.
Phase 2 laid the groundwork. It tunneled under the railroad and installed new crossing panels at the tracks. Phase 2 also covers construction of the downtown water reuse pump station, and crews had started laying the system's piping by late July. The city says the regional water reuse system is meant to help manage stormwater and supply irrigation for the Civic Campus and City Center Park. In practice, water collected along the street will go back to the lawns and plantings a block away.
The Park the Pipe Is Headed For
City Center Park got its own upgrade this season. The city's September 30 bulletin says the new pavilion has three public restrooms, open 6 a.m. to 10 p.m., plus a new bike rack. The splash pad has already been winterized.
The Community Center is going up on the same civic campus. The city announced its groundbreaking in a September 1 release, and the building is expected to open in September 2028. Plans include two ice rinks, a field house, an indoor track and playground, fitness and dance space, and a 4,800-square-foot community room. At the groundbreaking, Mayor Elise Ryan called it a gathering place for neighbors and families. Trace Jacques, design lead at BKV Group, called it a "once-in-a-generation" project. One choice from August connects back to downtown. The City Council dropped a private restaurant shell from the building plan and put in more gathering space, a catering kitchen and larger concessions.
That leaves sit-down dining to the private storefronts going up at W. 78th and Market.
What Opens on the Corner in December
Roers Companies is redeveloping about 4 acres at W. 78th Street and Market Boulevard, the former site of the Country Inn & Suites and the closed Chanhassen Cinema. The plan includes about 310 market-rate apartments and five ground-floor commercial spaces totaling nearly 15,000 square feet. The city says those spaces are meant for restaurants, retail or other businesses.
| Building | Location on the site | Anticipated opening |
|---|---|---|
| Harlow | East building | December 2026 |
| Bennett | West building | September 2027 |
Parking is the detail that matters most for anyone who drives downtown. The project includes about 408 underground parking stalls, and the city says some of them will be open to the public for people visiting the commercial tenants. The city's project page doesn't name any storefront tenants. Community Development Director Eric Maass posted a September video tour of the Harlow and Bennett construction for anyone who wants to see how far along it is.
If the November target holds, the new signal, turn lane and sidewalks will be finished about a month before Harlow opens. The first people to use the rebuilt corner will be its first tenants and customers.
Getting Downtown This Month Anyway
The city says business access stays open as the routes shift, and the Phase 3 maps mark detours to businesses. The written notices don't give turn-by-turn directions for each business, so follow the posted signs and the city's current detour map. Don't count on Market Boulevard as a through route.
Several of this month's reasons to head downtown fall in the busy evening and weekend hours:
- ANNIE at Chanhassen Dinner Theatres. CDT lists the run as October 2, 2026, through February 27, 2027. The What's Chanhappenin' newsletter puts opening night on Friday, October 9. Tuesday through Saturday evenings, dinner seating is at 5:30 p.m. and the show starts at 7:30. Saturday matinee dinner seating is at 11 a.m., inside the contractor's work hours. The box office is (952) 934-1525.
- Absentee voting. Voting for the November 3 election is open now, according to the September 30 What's Chanhappenin'. If your errands include City Hall after the Phase 3B switch, plan to come in from Laredo Drive or Chan View.
- The City Center Park pavilion restrooms, open until 10 p.m.
Questions about the project go to two contacts the city lists. Ben Phillips is the city construction manager, and Chase Platt of Kimley-Horn, the city's engineering consultant, is the inspector.
The Other Closures Around Town
Downtown isn't the only work zone in October. Other routes that could affect how you get there:
- Galpin Boulevard is expected to close October 13 through 17 between the W. 78th Street and Longacres roundabouts for milling, paving and striping, weather permitting.
- Highway 41 north of Highway 5 to Tanadoona Drive is expected to reopen October 5, according to Carver County.
- Highway 41 south of Highway 5 to 82nd Street stays closed through the end of the construction season. The county's detour uses Highway 5, Bavaria Road, Lyman Boulevard and Galpin Boulevard. Galpin is the road scheduled to close for paving in mid-October.
- Rolling Acres Road between St. Moritz Street and Interlaken is expected to close Monday, October 5, including the Interlaken intersection.
The Highway 41 south detour and the Galpin paving overlap the week of October 13. That's the week to give yourself extra time on the west side, even if the Market Boulevard switch has gone smoothly by then.
When the corner of W. 78th and Market reopens with new storefronts, it changes what that part of downtown is like to live near. If you're thinking about what the new corner means for your own home, we're glad to walk through it with you. Just reach out to Ryan Johnson when you're ready.
