New buildings are rising. Iconic buildings are being restored. And some abandoned structures are being demolished as Erie reinvents its downtown.

Here's a look at just a sampling of the construction projects underway in the heart of Erie this summer.

The five-story, 62,000-square-foot building under construction on the site of the former McDonald's restaurant at 430 State St. will house an indoor climbing facility and apartments.

The three lower floors will be occupied by Ascend Erie, a local hub of Pittsburgh-based Ascend Climbing. The center will include three-story rope walls plus space for yoga classes and workshops, fitness and training areas, youth programs, and concessions.

Erie downtown:Ascend Climbing of Pittsburgh to build 3-story indoor gym

There will be 30 apartments in the building's top floors.

The Erie Downtown Development Corp. project is expected to be completed late this year or early next year.

Erie Downtown Development Corp. projects include construction of another mixed-use building at West Fifth and Peach streets. The building will house three retail shops and 36 apartments.

The building is expected to be completed next year and will wrap around a 312-space parking garage expected to be finished this fall.

Welcoming a new tenant:Erie's Flagship City Food Hall

The 210-foot smokestack at the former Quin-T Tech Paper and Boards property, at 140 E. 16th St., is coming down to make way for a new use of the land.

Erie Mayor Joe Schember's administration has proposed using federal American Rescue Plan dollars to create a public park and recreational facility at the site.

Crews from West Virginia-based Reclaim Company LLC began smokestack demolition in July. The $493,888 project is expected to be completed soon.

Brick by brick:Quin-T smokestack demo is underway

Scaffolding at St. Peter Cathedral at 230 W. 10th St. is in place for continuing work on the exterior masonry.

The work is part of a multi-year, multi-million restoration of the cathedral, the mother church of the Catholic Diocese of Erie. The cathedral opened in 1893.

Laid to rest in cathedral crypt:Retired Erie Catholic Diocese Bishop Donald W. Trautman

Stone on the cathedral's south tower had shifted over the decades and is being reset, said the Rev. Michael Ferrick, the cathedral's rector. The work is expected to be completed this fall.

Renovations underway inside the cathedral are part of a $4.7 million project begun in 2018. The work will culminate with the return of the cathedral's restored pipe organ. Reassembling the organ will take three months.

"The goal is for it to be finished by Christmas," Ferrick said.

New construction in progress at neighboring Cathedral Preparatory School includes work on a $12.5 million, three-story building devoted to science, technology, engineering, mathematics and art.

Renovations at the school include the conversion of the pool to a dance and fitness center and the conversion of an existing library to a chapel.

Gannon University's Mary Seat of Wisdom Chapel at 520 Peach St. is getting a new roof, and new sheet metal for its steeple as part of the project.

The chapel was built in 1950, and the current roof has reached the end of its useful life, a college spokeswoman said.

The chapel was reopened in spring 2021 following the discovery of an abandoned natural gas well nearby in 2019. Buildings north of the chapel were demolished to deal with the well. Interior renovations and a new fellowship hall and reflection garden were included in the two-year, $1.5 million project completed last year.

Contact Valerie Myers at vmyers@timesnews.com. Follow her on Twitter @ETNmyers.