City Market Building Improvements
Description: Improvements to City Market Building including upgrading interior lighting, fresh paint, new interior signs, new exterior signs, repair of damaged canopy, and installation of sturdy posts to protect canopy from trucks.
Cost Estimate: $425, 000 for initial improvements; $6.3 million for complete renovation proposed by Cunningham-Quill Architects.
Funding: Public
Announced: Study of City Market area began in mid-summer 2005. Duany Plater-Zyberk & Co. and SFCS, used a series of comprehensive workshops with farmers, City Market building vendors, citizens, and the City of Roanoke.
Timeframe: Improvements approved by Roanoke City Council. A proposal to sell the building was informally proposed in December 2007. In March 2008 the City Council issued an RFP for developers, organizations, or individuals to make capital improvements, manage, and operate the Market Building. The Council also moved to shorten retailer and vendor leases from three years to one. On Monday July 8, 2008, the City received two proposals. One proposal was submitted by the Coalition for the Roanoke City Market, a group associated with Downtown Roanoke, Inc. Unhappy with the responses they received, City Council instructed city officials to draft another RFP on September 2, 2008. This draft is expected to include “broader” language with the hope that the Coalition for the Roanoke City Market will resubmit its proposal. Cosmetic improvements to the building continue in preparation for the November 2008 opening of Art Museum of Western Virginia. During a ”retreat ” on September 30, 2008, the Roanoke City Council explored the possibility of the City doing renovations to the building. An outside group to manage and operate the bulding could still be considered in the future. Should the City decide to undertake renovations, vendor leases would become month to month instead of yearly.
City Council voted 6 to 1 to have Cunningham Quill Architects move forward to develop a renovation design on January 22, 2009. Cost for the design work is estimated to be $120, 000.
On April 20, 2009, Cunnningham Quill unveiled the results of their renovation design study. Council will now decide if they want to move forward with the drafting of construction drawings. The drafting process could take 9 to 12 months. Council will likely revist the issue in late May or June during a planned review of capital projects. The renovation plan can be viewed here.
On July 6th, 2009, the City Council voted unanimously to move forward on an engineering study. The cost of the study is $700, 000. The Market Building study will move forward as funds are in place in the City’s five-year capital spending plan.
Update: October 2009-plans are to close building in mid 2010 for construction which will take 12 to 18 months.
Update: May 2010 -the building will close on September 6 to the public and vendors on September 13th. Constructions is expected to last 10 months.
Update: June 2010 - Martin Brothers Contractors awarded construction bid. Construction preparation set to begin on Sept. 13th and first floor and mezzanine construction begins Sept. 27th.
How Will It Enhance Quality of Life? Thriving public place, revitalization of downtown, preserve history and heritage of Farmer’s Market.
Recent Articles: http://www.roanoke.com/business/wb/160383
http://www.roanoke.com/news/roanoke/wb/162989
http://www.roanoke.com/news/roanoke/wb/201820
