Cleveland city planners and consultants unveiled their $44 million master plan for a revitalized West Side Market, one that includes much-needed infrastructure upgrades and expansion plans.
The plan comes at a pivotal moment for the century-old public market, which will soon undergo a transition from city to nonprofit management. While still city-owned, the newly formed Cleveland Public Market Corporation is expected to take over day-to-day operations and set a vision for the future, including promises to create new revenue streams.
Despite an operating loss of $700,000 and a 32% vendor vacancy rate last year, the market is among the most visited Cleveland attractions. More than 800,000 people visit a year, 46% of whom live in the city. That makes it worth saving, said West Side Market Senior Strategist Jessica Trivisonno.
“When you think of Cleveland, you think of the West Side Market,” said Ward 8 representative Mike Polensek during the Wednesday presentation to City Council.
A majority of the budget will go toward necessary infrastructure upgrades, which Mayor Justin Bibb’s administration and market vendors say are long overdue, like a basement renovation, roof repairs and electrical upgrades.
“I pay my rent; you expect certain things from your landlord,” said Don Whitaker, who owns D.W. Whitaker Meats and also heads the market’s tenant organization, in May after an elevator outage shuttered many businesses for the day.
The latest master plan is one of many over the years, Trivisonno said, but if Cleveland City Council approves the transfer of management to Cleveland Public Market Corporation this fall, they have the opportunity to make good on those promises.
Tenants “have heard lots of promises over time, and they’re still in a, ‘We’ll believe it when we see it,’” Trivisonno said. “I’m really looking forward to Cleveland Public Market Corporation and the city earning their trust.”
Beyond the $30 million estimated for infrastructure, $14 million is proposed for expansion plans. That includes plans for commercial kitchens where vendors can prepare food on site, event spaces, educational kitchens for instructional courses and a prepared food hall.
"We have a good sense of you know we want to maintain the market as a fresh food focused place, but we know that there’s demand for prepared food, we know there’s interest in more seating, we know we have to figure out ways to have a stronger bottom line for the market," Trivisonno said.
Currently, produce vendors sprawl across the North and East Arcades. Under the proposed plan, they would be consolidated into a renovated East Arcade, complete with air conditioning and other infrastructure upgrades.
The North Arcade would be dedicated to a prepared food hall with 12 vendors, eight of whom will have access to cooking hoods to prepare food on-site. Two locations in the prepared food hall would be bars. There will also be indoor and outdoor seating. The alley in between the market and the arcades would be transformed into a covered passageway with retractable doors, tables and chairs.
A modest parking rate increase was proposed to increase revenue in the early phases of the plan as fundraising efforts continue. Once larger economic drivers like the prepared food hall and commercial kitchens are complete, Trivisonno said the market is expected to turn a profit and wean off city subsidies.
Where will the funding come from?
So far, the market is about a quarter of the way to its $44 million goal, thanks to a recent allocation of the city’s pandemic relief funds.
The $10 million investment was approved by City Council last month, but not everyone was happy with that number. Mayor Justin Bibb, who originally requested double that amount, insisted on a larger spend.
Bibb previously said as the city doubles down on its promise to take negligent property owners in the city to task, they must also look at themselves as stewards of the market.
City Council members opposed to a bigger spend defended themselves, citing millions of dollars of investment in recent years. Between 2019 and 2022, the city said it put $10.5 million toward the market.
The rest of the funding for the market revitalization will come from grants, sponsorships and philanthropic sources, with the option to go into debt that will be repaid using the market’s parking fees once the prepared food hall and commercial kitchens open, Trivisonno said. The timeline is flexible, but Trivisonno pointed out that the sooner funds are raised, the sooner the market will be self-reliant without taxpayer assistance to run operations.
The city will still be in charge of capital expenses, according to the plan.
Trivisonno and consultant Ted Spitzer will hold a public meeting on Thursday, June 29 at 5 p.m. to present the plan to Cleveland residents.
