Martin Luther King Boston Common monument on hold a bit

The backers of a planned Boston Common monument to civil rights leaders—and one-time Bostonians—Martin Luther King Jr. and Coretta Scott King had expected to announce the winning design in December 2018.

Now it looks like that announcement will come in February or March. King Boston, a nonprofit backing the initiative, cited concerns about the costs and materials involved.

Things have advanced a bit, though, since King Boston and city officials announced in September the five finalists for the design of the monument: Two of the five have been eliminated. The three left include “the Ripple Effects” (rendered at top); “Boston’s King Memorial,” which includes a stone bridge from Beacon Street into the Common; and “the Embrace,” which features a 22-foot sculpture of the Kings’ interlocking arms.

Meanwhile, the city parks department is seeking an independent engineering firm’s assessment of the feasibility of these remaining contenders. Stay tuned.

• Martin Luther King Jr. memorial plans run into questions, delays [Globe]
• Martin Luther King Jr. in the Boston area: Where he lived, worked, and played [Curbed Boston]
• Boston’s Martin Luther King Jr. monument: The 5 design finalists [Curbed Boston]