What a great idea, Dave !! That would attract people who would not be interested in trying to park downtown and could be greatly expanded from the current, too small, location.

Wouldn’t it interfer with the contstruction activities from the new hospital announced a looonngggg time ago? (sarcasm)

Excellent idea. While we’re at it how about opening up some space to allow some of us frustrated gardeners to grow a plot of veggies. I’d pay rent for such a space if its convenient and any excess I could sell at this place. The timing is perfect. With food and gas prices skyrocketing there will be plenty of folks stuck in Boise this summer who’d gratefully devote the time necessary to bring in a crop.

Great idea and beautiful photos, Fraz!

Well, there you go again Guardian! Haven’t you learned better than to mix logic and common sense into the mix whenever discussing the city with the baboon and his band of chimps. They will never approve of anything that might jeopradize CCDC’s precious Saturday market. Too bad, too! It’s an excellent idea.

I wonder if Team Dave would get heat from Albertsons, Winco, Boise Coop, M&W, for such an idea?

My wife was shopping at Pauls in McCall over the weekend and noticed many prices in the produce area cheaper than the Boise big box stores . Amazing.
I think the regular folks who live there probably can’t afford Boise prices. She even bought me a nice pork roast that was .20/# cheaper than Winco.

Great idea for that property. Even if a farmers market was only there for a few years, it would test the idea plus be a great use for the vacant land and keep the weeds down. Lots of available parking there would really be a plus. Consider leasing the property and having a private party organize the market like the 8th street market. I have never seen government really successful in trying to run a business.

I went to the Farmers market the week before last and found a small pile of radishes, a few bags of lettuce, old gourds, some bread companies and THOUSANDS OF ITEMS OF USELESS JUNK / ART.

Maybe they could have FARMERS at the Farmers Market, …what a concept.

What needs to happen is for the ‘real’ Farmers to get on a piece of donated land for a genuine Farmers Market and EXCLUDE the junk vendors. The UberConsumers don’t buy local food …yet, but do clog up the place making it difficult to actually find FOOD.

Been playing Silent Bob for awhile. But I’ve got to say that a Public Market is an ideal investment for downtown revitalization.

Mr. Blurton — how disconnected from the land do you have to be to loose sight of the fact that you’re not going to find fresh LOCAL vegetables in Boise, in APRIL. Anything there was gleened out of root cellars from last year’s crop.

Guardian — very nice pictures of farmers’ markets around the world. But please note that Public Markets are an integral component of every older American settlement. There are many fine PM’s in eastern U.S. cities. The Project for Public Spaces published a great series of articles on Public Markets in its October 2005 webzine:

http://www.pps.org/info/newsletter/october2005/market_revival

There are even consultants that will assist communities in establishing such markets, here’s one:

http://www.publicmarketconsulting.com/retailing.html

Here’s a great article on such markets published by the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis:

http://www.stlouisfed.org/publications/br/2005/a/pages/3-article.html

EDITOR NOTE–George, I seem to be missing your point. Are you FER THE IDEA OR AGINNIT? We certainly are NOT against the 8th Street Northender crowd at the Saturday market. The head of the group said on KBOI today there simply was not enough product (or space) to expand that market. Do you favor the weedpatch and status quo at 30th and Fairview/Main?

I think it would be great to put the piece of land to use as a Farmers Market, but only as an incubator/test to determine if a full time Farmers Market could be viable. I think if would be better served in an permanent location that allowed for both indoor and outdoor areas.

Many of Curious George’s and the Guardian’s links referenced market that were a mix of actual farm products, restaurants and shops. There needs to be a draw to make it a destination place year round. It also important to provide a mix of product types to extend the hours of operation. The longer you can activate a place throughout the day, the more opportunity you have for a successful project.

A possible permanent location could be the Compton Warehouse building at 9th and Front. I proposed this for my senior thesis in school. Broad Street could be extended as a pedestrian street through the building to provide a link to BODO, the Greenbelt connector on 11th, and the possible new convention center. This building would give an opportunity for indoor and outdoor vendor booths depending on the season. It also is near a parking garage, enlivined shopping district (BODO) and with in walking distance of downtown residential properties.

EDITOR NOTE–Can’t resist this one! We are talking apples and oranges. Your BoDo Compton warehouse may have legs (A Simplot family member floated something in the area as well). There simply is no parking available nor room for farm trucks to come and go in the busy corridor which is already crowded with busses and TV rigs far too often.

Guardian,

I’m all for a permanent, year-round Public Market for Boise. The closer to downtown restuarants and hoped-for new residential stock the better. Access to the River and the Greenbelt would be a nice amenity for tourists (but not a necessary component for locals), as well as good access for delivery trucks and near-in public parking (or better yet, located a walkable/bikable distance to a strong customer base).

Anybody who says that the Grove/8th Street, the former Lithia Ford site, or the Compton site, is the best location for a Public Market without doing the necessary market & technical research is jumping the gun.

By advocating for a specific site (or none at all) is as Draconian and wrong-headed as any of the stubborn CCDC committments (think, Big Hole).

Since a Public Market is a proven redevelopment tool (and simple good Urbanism), it should be a simple step to ask CCDC & Boise to hire a specialist to look at existing market conditions, probable costs, and multiple sites before building a case for any further public investment in the idea.

And, before you disparrage any discussion of public indebtidness — successful Public Markets are (by nature) public investments, as critically necessary as schools, water treatment plants, and roadways. They provide a level of good urbanism, good public stewardship, and sales venues for small local businesses that the private sector has NEVER achieved.

There’s a reason why Public Market’s in cities like Buffalo and Philidelphia:

http://www.forgottenbuffalo.com/historicpoloniadistrict/broadwaymarket.html

http://www.readingterminalmarket.org/

Have survived for over a Century and grown to become the heart of sustainable neighborhoods. Though a strong component of such markets, stalls have never been limited to only food products — Arts & Crafts, Pots & Pans, Toys & Games, Hot Dog Stands & Fine Restaurants have always been a strong component of such venues (even if Mr. Blurton considers them useless junk). Even street theater should be encouraged.

Having seen Tucker’s senior thesis (I think I was even an invited critic – okay, maybe uninvited), the Compton site (especially with a re-established local street grid along Broad to 11th Street — as a truck service drive) is a very viable candidate site. The argument that there isn’t sufficient public parking around the Compton site must be a facetious remark – right?

The Comptons warehouse would be a perfect downtown location. The trucks would have plenty of axis to unload since they would need to do it very early in the morning or the night before. That building has a freight elevator indoors as well to access the basement which could make a cool Boise Underground type of gig. What is wrong with parking in the empty lot next to it? It makes much more sense to build a Farmers Market, sustaining many businesses than a giant hotel/convention center. The city will crush it with over regulation ,safety issues,etc. making the rent space too expensive for vendors. They will make sure something as progressive as a permanent farmers market will fail. Remember, these are the nimrods who can’t fix the hole in downtown Boise. They are spawn of the ones who brought us Boise Redevelopment in the 70’s. Same mind set, same gene pool. Simplot S16 folks won’t let it happen because they are afraid someone might make a dime and besides they couldn’t make a successful development if they tried. Goes back to the gene pool.

Thanks for the reply, Dave. I wasn’t sure if I heard her complete message or not. I’m glad the confusion wasn’t just on my part. She talked in political double-speak and really didn’t give an answer.

I will point out that one reason the powers-that-be won’t support a farmer’s market on an excess land location is because they fear the uproar that will happen when they want to bulldoze the land to put up a new convention center.

I believe the talk of ‘selling’ the excess land is really just another attempt to get a convention center built. Maybe the “old” convention center could become the farmer’s market.

I love the idea, but how about this time we make it a healthy option and prohibit fair food from the market. My brother in Anchorage says there is a farmer’s market there that doesn’t allow it and another one that does.

Then I could feel good about bringing my kids because now it is a bit miserable as we don’t eat any junk food and I mean none! All of our food is whole and unprocessed. We would love an environment we could visit that didn’t try to push junk on us and that’s pretty hard to find in a public domain!

Ok… I am so in favor of moving the “Capital City Public Market”
It already is so crowded, and seems to be limited to adding more venders. The more space and place for parking is truely needed. Boise needs to step up and move along with the times.

This lovely City is growing,and Boise really is not doing it’s part in keeping up. Why is the Market confined to “Just Sturdays 9:30-1:30”? Most likely because it would interfear with the merchants already there. This limits many people to enjoy what Boise Market has to offer. The “Market” in Seattle is an ongoing every day. It is busy at all times… rain or shine! It is a well known “Public” Market as well as a wonderful tourest spot. I say…lets just do it!!!