Photos by Eric Brady | The Roanoke Times

David Estrada of Chico's Big Lick Pizza says he can likely weather a year of changes.

Anita Wilson of Burger in The Square said she is not opposed to changes "as long as they don't put us out of business."

The Roanoke City Market Building buzzed Thursday with speculation and debate -- a not uncommon combination there.

The catalyst this time was a prematurely released report from a nonprofit consulting group that details ambitious recommendations for a major overhaul of the increasingly rundown landmark in the heart of downtown.

It advises changes in use and design, calls for the restoration of the third floor ballroom and removal of most of the mezzanine, suggests new locations for food court vendors, describes the potential for retail restaurants inside the building and much, much more.

Any proposed change at the market building, described in the report as "the iconic building and place in the city," is likely to stir controversy.

On Thursday, no one interviewed, either inside the building or at the adjacent farmers market, had read the report. That didn't inhibit strong reactions from two food court customers.

"They should leave it just the way it is," said Bob Clear. "It's a historic building."

Sarah Yearout chimed in, "If it ain't broke, don't fix it."

Food court vendors, long wary of how renovations might affect their businesses, reiterated their concerns Thursday -- wondering how they will survive during construction and whether they'll be able to afford leases if they return.

"We're not against anything that will benefit us here in the building as long as we're able to stay," said Dean Crump of Nuts & Sweet Things.

His wife, Georgia, owns the business.

"I think everybody agrees that the building needs to be updated," she said. "We just think they're trying to drive the little people out."

One recommendation would bring farmers back to the building, both inside and out, to sell fresh produce, flowers and the like.

Another would strip paving from two squares at the farmers market -- one adjacent to restaurant 202 Market and the other to Center in the Square -- with the purpose of creating green or open space.

Penned by the Project for Public Spaces and a subcontractor, the report was submitted earlier this month to the Roanoke Valley Development Foundation and the Roanoke Valley Development Corp.

PPS is a nonprofit organization that describes itself as being dedicated to "helping people create and sustain public places that build communities."

Nearly everyone wondered how the changes would reduce street parking in an area where spots are often tough to find. An economic analysis concluded that "convenient parking is essential."

The report does not estimate how many millions of dollars would be required to pull off the changes envisioned.

It suggests that a nonprofit organized to oversee the project and manage the building could solicit grant money and contributions and that the city of Roanoke could hold a bond referendum to finance the project.

It notes that capital expenses "are usually borne by the city as most markets are not able to produce revenue to finance improvements."

Cash flow projections, based on vacancies of 30 percent in 2009 and 5 percent in 2011, suggest operations can become profitable by year three.

Beth Doughty is president of the foundation and secretary of the corporation. In a separate role, she is executive director of the Roanoke Valley Economic Development Partnership.

Doughty, who has declined to say how much the foundation and corporation paid for PPS' study, emphasized two points about PPS' report.

First, the foundation and corporation funded the effort, she said, simply to see what options might fully realize the building's potential.

"It is not a proposal," she said. "It is just a report from experts in the field about what might make the project successful."

However, page one of an attached PPS memo declares, "It is anticipated that this information will be incorporated into the RFP [request for proposal] for the city" -- which owns the market building. City officials recently extended the deadline for receiving responses to a related request for proposal from June 2 to July 7.

Doughty said the foundation and corporation are not interested in making a proposal for the building's renovation, management and operation.

Bill Carder, executive director of Downtown Roanoke Inc., had asked for the RFP deadline extension on behalf of a "coalition" he said is drafting a proposal. Carder has helped shepherd the coalition effort and has said DRI will not be a player.

A copy of the PPS report leaked Wednesday.

"I have no idea how that happened," Carder said.

Carder had e-mailed the report Wednesday to board members for DRI, the Foundation for Downtown and others. A copy of the e-mail obtained by The Roanoke Times showed a list of recipients that totaled close to 50 people.

Carder acknowledged that e-mailing the report might have led to the leak.

Previously, he had said DRI wanted to avoid the backlash that befell Center in the Square when controversial details leaked about preliminary plans being considered for its overhaul.

On Thursday, Carder said early release of the PPS recommendations could foster discussion that need not be negative.

Brian Townsend, assistant city manager for community development, received the e-mail. He said he deleted the message because the city must remain neutral until all RFPs have been submitted and reviewed. Townsend offered no additional comment.

Food court vendor Anita Wilson, co-owner of Burger in The Square, said she is not opposed to market building changes "as long as they don't put us out of business."

A key concern mentioned by food court businesspeople focused on how long renovations might take and what would happen to them in the interim.

David "Chico" Estrada owns Chico's Big Lick Pizza, which has been a food court restaurant for 18 years. Estrada said he could probably weather a year or so.

"I could make it but some people in here probably won't," he said.

As envisioned, the first-floor layout would change.

Permanent stalls for produce and flower sellers or crafts people would occupy the center of the space and food court vendors would line the walls. Most of the mezzanine would disappear, "opening up the space to its original full height and making it once again a bright, light-filled space."

Many of PPS' recommendations echo suggestions of a previous study. The city paid $100,000 for that report, which was coordinated by Roanoke native Tom Lowe and was a collaboration between the internationally known Duany Plater-Zyberk & Co. design firm and Roanoke's SFCS architects.