Projects: Existing/Historic Markets
Market Ventures’ business planning activities include master plans, strategic marketing plans, redevelopment concepts, pro forma analysis, and impact assessment. We often create teams with experienced public market managers, local architectural and engineering firms, and others with specialized expertise, as needed.
Over the past nearly 30 years, MVI has assisted many of the country’s iconic public markets, including Cleveland’s West Side Market, Lexington Market in Baltimore, Reading Terminal Market in Philadelphia, the Rochester Public Market, Soulard Market in St. Louis, and Essex Street Market in NYC.
The City of Cleveland has owned and operated West Side Market since its establishment in 1912. Facing substantial vacancies, declining sales, growing operating deficits, and insufficient investment to maintain the magnificent historic facilities, Mayor Justin Bibb made a key campaign promise: to transition the Market to nonprofit management by creating a new tax-exempt organization with responsibility for daily operations.
In 2022, leadership within the Bibb administration reached out to Market Ventures, Inc. to assist with the transition process. This work required building trust with Market merchants, who had suffered from disinvestment and inadequate management for years, as well as other key stakeholders in the community. MVI proposed the board and committee structure, assisted with incorporation and application for tax exemption, and helped select and train the new board members and staff. The city successfully transitioned West Side Market to Cleveland Public Market Corporation (CPMC) in April 2024.
Realizing that the new nonprofit needed a road map for capital improvements, leasing, and operations, and to address longstanding concerns about the lack of vendor diversity, MVI was tasked with creating a master plan for West Side Market. Stakeholder engagement and research included one-on-one meetings with nearly all of the Market’s 65 merchants, a customer intercept survey, site observations, review of (many) previous studies, and the frequent convening of a diverse Advisory Committee.
MVI prioritized a complete redesign of the basement, which provides not only critical storage space for the Market’s meat, produce, and specialty food businesses, but also meat cutting facilities for the Market’s many butchers.
To meet demand for food to eat in the Market while maintaining the historic focus on fresh and specialty foods, MVI proposed converting the detached North Arcade to a food hall while consolidating the produce vendors into an upgraded East Arcade. MVI also proposed new event and education spaces, including a hands-on teaching kitchen in the mezzanine.
MVI continues to assist CPMC, ensuring that the strategies created in the master plan are implemented by the design team and new management staff. Construction is scheduled to begin in Spring 2025, with CPMC is closing in on the $60 million capital budget, including the city’s investment of $20 million.
Since its establishment in 1782, Lexington Market has served the residents of Baltimore as the city’s principal public market. Once a primary location where a diverse cross section of residents bought their staple grocery items, the Market’s facilities were not serving merchants or customers well and there were serious problems with the building’s structure and systems. Recognizing these and other challenges, the board of directors of Lexington Market, Inc. undertook the Transform Lexington Market Initiative to make the Market into a more aesthetically pleasing and commercially successful place.
In 2014, Market Ventures, Inc. was selected to lead a team of architects, engineers and planners to develop a master plan that would guide redevelopment and investment into the facility. The team conducted extensive market research, engaged a broad range of stakeholders including Market merchants, customers, and downtown leaders, applied the experiences of other public markets around the country, and creatively addressed new opportunities and challenges.
The MVI team sought to maintain the authentic, core elements that have made Lexington Market a beloved Baltimore institution for more than two centuries, while addressing the Market’s deficiencies in a strategic and cost effective manner.
The master plan clarified the Market’s mission, proposed an enhanced mix of tenants and new program elements, identified innovations and partnerships, offered a schematic design along with an operations and management plan, created an operating pro forma, identified potential development financing, and analyzed the potential economic impact following implementation.
Lexington Market, Inc. adopted the master plan in January 2015 and subsequently hired MVI to help guide the implementation process. In this role, MVI wrote the RFPs for design and construction management services and helped select the preferred contractors, created board committees to oversee implementation, developed a communications strategy, identified new staff positions and assisted with recruitment, and supported the financing. In weekly meetings with the Market’s Executive Director, MVI offered guidance to “keep the train running” and ensure the Transform Lexington Market Initiative was successful.
In 2022, Lexington Market moved into its new building.
The hugely popular Rochester Public Market, owned and operated by the City of Rochester, has served the citizens of upstate New York for over 100 years. Market Ventures joined a team of local architects and planners to re-imagine the Wintershed and create a master plan to guide investment at the Market.
MVI conducted extensive market research, designed and led a public involvement process, explored best practices at comparable facilities around the country, and developed multi-phased recommendations to improve the facility. MVI also prepared an economic impact analysis that helped support the proposed public investment.
Based on the team’s recommendations, the City invested $8.5 million into new market facilities, including a new farmers’ pavilion, a reconceived and expanded Wintershed, and relocation of prepared food kiosks into retrofitted shipping containers. The master plan received the American Planning Association’s Excellence Award for Best Practice in 2012 and the plan has led to increased market patronage.
In 2021, MVI was selected, along with PLAN Architects, to conduct a second master plan to prepare for organizational transitions and position the Market for long term success. The master plan offered numerous strategies for expanding both wholesale and retails sales, increasing food production, and making the Public Market a dynamic hub of innovation and activity.
