Farmer's Market breaks ground on new sheds

As promised, Beaver Street Fisheries is in a rush to replace and demolish the existing farmer's market. A trip to the site this past weekend revealed that construction had already started on the new market. The good news is the decrepit existing structures are being replaced with an all new facility. The bad news is that the new sheds are in a worse location than the existing facilities and situated in a position that won't bring revitalization to the warehouse district surrounding it.

CONSTRUCTION PHOTOGRAPHS 

The new sheds are located just to the west of the existing market.

 

This warehouse building sits between the new market's sheds and Beaver Street, decreasing the market's visibility in the process.



A STROLL THROUGH SATURDAY'S (DEC 2, 2006) MARKET SCENE

Despite the isolated location and lack of vision displayed by those in charge of putting the deal together for the new facility, this is still a unique local institution that needs to be supported by as many residents and tourist as possible.  Who knows, at some point in the future, if we can keep it afloat, it may end up in or closer to downtown one day.  In the meantime, Beaver Street Fisheries and the JEDC need to work together to improve the market's connectivity, with the rest of the urban core.

This illustration shows the existing JTA trolley bus line (red), connecting a portion of the warehouse district west of I-95, the Prime Osborn, County Courthouse site and FCCJ.  One way to improve the connection between the market and downtown would be to extend the existing trolley route down Beaver (blue line), make a loop through the new market and back through the warehouse district to reconnect with the existing route, just north of JTA's offices.  Another idea to consider would be increased marketing efforts by working with DVI and the CVB.