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Above: Built in 1929, the approximately 200-year-old Soulard Market is in need of renovation.
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Soulard Market plans $10 million renovation effort.
By Liese Hutchison
Before the mom and pop corner grocery store and the large supermarkets, public, open-air markets provided fresh produce for communities. Soulard Market, estimated to be some 220 years old, is one of the oldest, continuously operated public markets in the United States.
Located in the historic French neighborhood known as Soulard, the market’s documented opening occurred in the 1830s when the Soulard family donated the market to the city of St. Louis, with the stipulation that it be maintained as a public market. Undocumented claims indicate a market existed at its current location since the 1780s. This venerable institution receives more than 500,000 shoppers and visitors annually, who buy anything from fresh fish to live chickens to flowers to produce.
Located just south of downtown St. Louis and north of the Anheuser-Busch brewery along the Mississippi River, the old market is showing its age. According to Sandra Zak, market master, the current structure was built in 1929 and the systems inside have not been updated since then. In addition, sales are declining and vendor vacancies are increasing. This is hard to imagine for the crowds of people who buy at the market every Wednesday through Saturday. “I’ve been going to the market for 50 years,” says Kathryn Nelson, president of the newly formed Soulard Market Restoration, Inc., the nonprofit group created to build consensus about the market’s overhaul and raise funds. “We want to make the market attractive for our own citizens and our own community. Soulard Market needs to be a part of the region’s current revival effort,” Nelson states. Approximately 90 vendors employ between 300 and 500 people, depending on the season.
Zak says in her six years as marketmaster, she’s seen a lot of positive signs. “I see people who are realizing the importance of healthy nutrition and fresh foods. For many years people were doing the convenient thing with prepared foods and microwaves, but I’m seeing now that people are much more health conscious,” she notes. Zaks says many residents shop at the market to support the local farmers. “You can stretch your food dollar more at Soulard Market and you can get good quality, farm fresh produce.”
Nelson agrees, not only is she working to raise civic funds for the market, she’s also promoting the healthy aspects of fresh foods. “I want people to rediscover cooking and let them know they can get fresh fruit and vegetables for their families,” Nelson remarks.
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Above: Annually, more than 500,000 shoppers buy everything from fresh fish to live chickens to flowers to produce at the historic Soulard public market.
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Successful public markets, such as the Reading Terminal Market in Philadelphia and Pike Place Market in Seattle, not only offer low-cost food choices for the community, but also serve as major attractions for tourists. The city of St. Louis hired a unique national consulting firm, Project for Public Spaces, that works with public markets around the world to help determine the best management of public markets and blueprints for revitalizing these city treasures. “Soulard Market is a beloved institution that has tremendous potential,” says Steve Davies, vice president of Project for Public Spaces. “The goal is to preserve it, keeping the core market the same, and bringing it up to date. If we do this, it will be a viable institution that will successfully continue into the 21st century. By enhancing it, Soulard Market can be to St. Louis what Pike Place Market is to Seattle.”
“The plan was put together with the Department of Public Utilities and the St. Louis Development Corp.,” says David Visintainer, director of public utilities. Public hearings and task forces have reviewed the plan, which is being finalized. With a $10 million price tag, the plan is workable and will bring the city a great return on the investment, Visintainer says. “We can’t do all the work at once and shut down the market. It will be done in phases, so we won’t need the financing all at once.” Money for the restoration will come from private citizens, corporations, foundations, federal grants and the city through the fund-raising efforts of Soulard Restoration Inc. In addition to raising the funds to refurbish the market, Nelson says the goal is to make the market self-sufficient and not rely on funds from the city for its operation.
Work is expected to begin within six months. The various phases of the restoration will include:
- upgraded lighting, signage, bathroom relocation and entrance improvements
- updating the utility systems and providing adequate, modern space for storage and food handling
- create additional retail space in the grand hall
- expand parking facilities
- use the second floor for market office and restrooms.
Visintainer says the market restoration should also spur economic development in the area like the Welsh baby carriage factory, which will be redeveloped into 150 apartments, and Bohemian Hill, which proposes to build 100-plus single-family fair market rate homes.
The goals of the Soulard Market restoration are to create:
- a centerpiece for local economic development in the neighborhood and the city
- a more attractive shopping destination, which can perform effectively and creatively in today’s competitive food-buying environment
- a place where existing vendors can improve their current operations and become more economically viable
- a public place that accommodates the diversity of the St. Louis population and reflects its unique cultural identity
- financial self-sufficiency, after an initial capital investment
- a source of new jobs for the city residents and new businesses, selling locally-made products.
Liese L. Hutchison, APR, is an assistant professor in the department of communication at Saint Louis University and a free-lance writer.
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