Rogers Lights Its Tree on a Main Street That's Halfway Rebuilt

The City of Rogers' fall 2026 newsletter puts one word in quotation marks. For the past 20 years, it says, City Hall has run out of a "temporary" location that was supposed to last five years, back when the city had roughly 7,000 people. Rogers now has more than 18,000 residents, and the permanent replacement is going up at Main Street and Industrial Boulevard.

So this year's Holiday Tree Lighting on Friday, Dec. 4, and the craft fair the next morning happen on a Main Street the city is rebuilding on purpose. City Hall is moving to a downtown corner. The old municipal block has been sold for private development. The bypass that feeds traffic into all of it just opened. The holiday weekend sits in the middle of those changes.

The corner that is getting City Hall

The Civic Campus combines a new City Hall and Police Station. It is being built on the former Holiday gas station site, which the newsletter calls the "Old Holiday," and the former Boyer Trucks site. The city lists these milestones on its project page:

• Jan. 13, 2026: City Council approves Terra Construction as construction manager
• Feb. 10, 2026: Council approves the preliminary plat and site plan
• June 23: Mobilization and demolition begin
• Cost: $37,937,622 for construction and $42,922,182 for the total project, according to the city's project page as of fall 2026

The Press & News reported a 16-month construction schedule when the Council picked the contractor. A later Press & News story reported that the campus was already under construction when the Council approved bid packages on July 28. In January, Finance & Commerce said the project was expected to wrap up in 2027.

The city has said why it chose this corner. The newsletter says a key Council priority was to use the project to "help revitalize the entrance to Downtown Rogers and Main Street." The plan replaces "substandard and blighted buildings on a highly visible corner" and adds as much public parking as the site allows, so the lot also serves downtown businesses. In other words, the new building is meant to bring more people and more parking to the street that holds the tree lighting.

The old municipal block goes to a private developer

The second half of the plan is on the same street. The city's spring 2026 newsletter says Rogers finalized the sale of the old Senior Center, former City Hall, and old Police Department property on Main Street to Duffy Development, with completion anticipated in summer 2027.

Put the two projects together and the city is doing two things at once on Main Street. It has handed its old buildings to a private developer, and it is putting its new front door at the downtown entrance. The fall newsletter also lists a senior center in the Main Street Senior Apartments among the projects the city is moving forward on. More of the city's public life is being placed downtown.

Until then, the event center carries the season

For now, the downtown gathering spot is the 21st Century Bank Event Center at 12716 Main Street. It hosts both halves of the city's first December weekend:

1. Friday, Dec. 4, 6 to 8 p.m.: The Holiday Tree Lighting Ceremony, with hot chocolate, cookies, caroling, and activities from 6 p.m. The tree is lit at 7 p.m. A raffle picks the person who flips the switch, so add your name when you arrive.
2. Saturday, Dec. 5, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.: The Craft Fair and Silent Auction, back in the same building. The city describes "dozens of local crafters" selling handmade jewelry, home decor, and gifts, along with silent auction baskets.

The craft fair runs through the city's 55+ program, and it closes out that program's fall lineup. If you want dinner before the lighting or a stop after Saturday's fair, two Main Street businesses are a short walk from the event center. R Social at 12901 Main St. serves food, cocktails, and brunch, and its website has been taking Thanksgiving meal-kit orders. The Antique Mall of Rogers at 12860 Main Street is a multi-dealer antiques mall listed in the I-94 West Chamber directory.

The drive in has already changed

The road project that took the longest to arrive is now open. The city says on its streets project page that the Fletcher Bypass "is now open to traffic," and it expected the project to be substantially complete in November 2026. Mayor Shannon Klick wrote in the fall newsletter that the city had pushed county, state, and federal governments for the bypass for 25 years. The project includes a realigned road, roundabouts, trail connections, pedestrian upgrades, and a new railroad crossing system. If you drove the October detours, that work is the reason this December's route downtown looks different from last year's.

The south side of town had work this year too. The city's project page lists fall 2026 as the expected finish for the mill-and-overlay on South Diamond Lake Road and Hassan Parkway.

The rest of the season, by date

Main Street hosts the tree lighting and craft fair. The rest of the season is spread across town and into Elm Creek Park Reserve:

Details for the Elm Creek lessons are on the Three Rivers Elm Creek Winter Recreation Area page and the SnowSports Academy page. The library program is listed on the Rogers Public Library calendar.

The ice is at the TruStone Center. Open skate costs $5 for residents and $7 for nonresidents for each skater over age five, and session dates are posted on the city's ice arena page calendar. The city's fall newsletter also says Rogers is moving forward with a second sheet of ice at TruStone Center.

The city's Holiday Lights Tour page asks residents with "flashy, festive, and exciting" displays to register their addresses. The city will put together a map with easy tour routes through town and post it on that page and on the City of Rogers Facebook page. If you are decorating, register on the city page.

If you live in Rogers and want to know what the Civic Campus, the Duffy site, and the open bypass could mean for your home's value, Epic Realty Inc can talk it through with you. Get your free home valuation, and we'll put together a local read on your address before the new City Hall opens on Main Street.