Sunday, December 09, 2007
Market building requires investment
Shanna Flowers
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The City Market Building is a dump.
Everyone knows it, and good thing it's on the radar screen again. Maybe something will get done.
This time of year, the historic red brick building will see a boost in foot traffic because of holiday activities downtown.
However, a visit to the market building -- with its filthy carpet, dim lighting, rickety toilet seats in the ladies room and smeared waste in the men's room -- would dampen even Santa's holiday spirit.
City officials have talked about the building over the years. But the problem has been that they've come up short on the follow-through.
Here's a thought:
Hold up on all this other jazz -- a fancy stepped plaza across Salem Avenue from the market, an amphitheater near Reserve Avenue -- and spruce up something that already exists and is critical to downtown. We're not talking a massive overhaul but a mere renovation.
And while you're at it, a collective strategy for downtown wouldn't hurt.
Last week, the off-the-cuff question of selling the city-owned market building filtered out. Such a move would save the city from spending at least $2 million to refurbish the 85-year-old structure.
City Manager Darlene Burcham stressed that council members had never really discussed the possibility, and they would make the call if such talks ever turned serious.
I can't imagine that happening. For starters, the city would lose a critical stake in what would be developed in the heart of downtown.
If the city is weary of solely operating the building, a public-private partnership is worth exploring. That would allow the city to retain a voice in what emerges at the site.
I don't know exactly what needs to happen. But something needs to.
In recent years, the building has been the source of one market-related worry after another. Out-of-town management. Unhappy tenants. And don't forget the debate over whether Subway belonged in the market building's food court.
In 2004, the city to its credit put $1.6 million into the building's heating and cooling system. A year later, officials included the market building in a $100,000 study that looked at the downtown market area.
The city's efforts, though notable, are piecemeal. It needs a collective strategy for transforming a money-losing operation into a thriving piece of a downtown framework that includes the new art museum, restaurants, retail and housing.
Four years ago, Burcham wrote in a letter to a market building vendor: "We are trying to develop a strategic plan for the property to ensure its future success, not its detriment."
The sentiment is dead on. But it's empty without follow-through.
