Rochester Public Market working towards second indoor facility

ROCHESTER, N.Y. (WROC) — Rochester’s Public Market is looking to build a big addition, a new indoor shed facility to replace the “C Shed,” which is the covered stall section closest to the Railroad Street entrance.

Director of the market, Jim Farr, tells News 8 this second indoor space will have 55 to 56 vendor stalls.

“Even though we have enclosed space inside, we still have a number of produce and other farm vendors outside in the winter time, so this is going to be a major upgrade that provides space for them,” Farr said on-site Wednesday.

Not only would there be more vendor stalls, but at one end would be a two-story event space. That space would have an event kitchen and rooftop seating.

“We can do parties, weddings, we’ve done memorial services,” Farr said. “A little bit of everything here at the market. That’s going to enhance the revenue here, and antyhing we can do to keep the revenue up… Helps us to keep costs low for the farmers and vendors at the regular market.”

An indoor c shed has been included in both the 2012 and 2022 master plans for the market. According to the 2022 master plan, the build-out was estimated at $19 million.

Farr is asking City Council for another million dollars for a construction drawings contract this month. The build would also demolish the old restrooms, and convert the old brick offices into a City merch store.

Once done, Farr says the market, which already has the largest SNAP redemption site in the country, will continue to grow.

“It’s going to provide one more reason for people to come to the market,” he said.

Farr says that an optimistic timeline for getting shovels in the ground for this project would be 18 months to two years after the construction drawings are done.

You can read the 2022 plan here:

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to RochesterFirst.