Three downtown sites are under consideration as the permanent location for an outdoor pavilion to house the Lawrence Farmers Market.
Steve Clark and Jane Huesemann, principals of planning and architectural design firm Clark Huesemann, shared a presentation on the process to narrow down potential sites during a virtual town hall Monday, followed by a glance at drawings for three sites.
The Lawrence Farmers Market started 49 years ago as a pop-up event in city parking lots each week. The market has used the 824 New Hampshire St. parking lots since 2008, but partners have been pushing to identify a permanent location to improve the long-term viability of the market.
The Farmers Market has identified 10 priorities for its permanent home, including a downtown location; a pavilion; permanent signage; electricity; access to water and drainage; parking for vendors and customers; a community gathering area; restrooms; lighting; and consistent stall sizes.
The goal is to also use the location for other community events and gatherings. Jill Elmers, a farmers market board member and owner of Moon on the Meadow farm, said there would be “a lot of other opportunities to use whatever we end up with” because the market only operates for a few hours each Saturday.
• Option 1: 800 block of New Hampshire Street — The first option presented Monday was the same site where the market is currently located.
Plans would call for a roof to be built over the area, and it would still be used for parking when not in use as the market or for another event.
• Option 2: Seventh Street between Kentucky and Tennessee streets — The second option would put the market on both sides of Seventh Street near Watson Park.
Seventh Street would remain open except when the market or other events are happening.
In this option, vendors would drive into the center aisles of the structures and then park along the sides. Patrons could park in the garage near the Lawrence Public Library, Huesemann said.
• Option 3: In the parking lot along Vermont Street between Eighth and Ninth streets — however, this site is currently under consideration for other developments as well.
The site could also potentially be covered parking when not in use for the market or events, with electric charging stations or other amenities added, Huesemann said.
Huesemann said the team had probably gotten the most interest in the second option, on Seventh Street, “I think because people see it as a park amenity.”
Maren Bradley, president of the Old West Lawrence Association, said she’d heard a lot of enthusiasm and people were “cautiously optimistic” about the possibility of having the market located at Watson Park.
Huesemann said people also responded positively about the existing market location, but it doesn’t really offer enough space for everything the permanent market site needs. She said it’s the least workable site from a capacity standpoint, but people are familiar with it.
Clark said the group is working to evaluate pros and cons of each site and will do so with city and county partners, Downtown Lawrence Inc. and the chamber of commerce over the next few weeks.
Huesemann said there will be another round of meetings for people to give input before the end of the process. People can keep up with the process on the market’s website at lawrencefarmersmarket.org/permanent-location.
A rough estimate of $5.9 million encompasses all phases of the project. The Lawrence City Commission earlier this month approved a budget allocating $175,000 in support of a permanent market location.
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Mackenzie Clark (she/her), reporter/founder of The Lawrence Times, can be reached at mclark@lawrencekstimes.com. Read more of her work for the Times here. Check out her staff bio here.
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