The Boston Public Market Association presented its proposal last night at a public meeting regarding its plan to bring a food market to downtown Boston’s Market District at Parcel 7, near Haymarket along the Greenway. The Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources (MDAR) hosted the meeting with its Public Market Commission, a group of citizens and interested parties.
After a formal bidding process, the non-profit Boston Public Market Association was the only organization to respond with a proposal. Should it be awarded the role as operator of the site, the BPMA anticipates a market opening in 2014.
The State has signed on to fund $10 million of infrastructure for the facility which surrounds a Central Artery venting facility and is below a parking garage owned by MassDOT. The BPMA said it would need to raise approximately another $11 million before opening the market that would house nearly 100 “Made in Massachusetts” vendors.
Discussion of the project addressed the issues of food / vendor selection, logistics and market strategy. In addition, there were several questions on how a public food market would impact the Haymarket pushcarts that set up Thursday-Saturday along abutting Hanover and Blackstone Streets.
The full proposal is available here. The Commission is also accepting comments in written format to: public.market@state.ma.us.
Watch the video for more details on the proposal.
