Overland Park OKs plan for $34 million new farmers market with year-round indoor pavilion

The Overland Park City Council on Monday advanced a $34 million plan to remake its downtown farmers market with an indoor pavilion, expanded vendor space and several gathering spots.

The council approved new plans for the reconstructed market, being built through a public-private partnership, an expansion of the current site downtown, between Santa Fe Drive and just east past Marty Street. City officials have been planning the project for several years to improve utilities, shade and accessibility at the popular market, which has appeared on national “best of” lists.

On Monday, the council moved forward with the public piece of the project, including the centerpiece indoor pavilion, with heating that could allow for a year-round market and events. Plans also include burying utilities, upgrading the patio around the downtown Clock Tower Plaza, building community gathering spaces, plus adding restrooms, shade structures and solar panels.

Assistant City Manager Kate Gunja said the project would make the site more accessible, including by making the Clock Tower patio level with Overland Park Drive, making that street more walkable, and reducing the slope shoppers currently experience walking through the market.

“I’ve been going to the farmers market since I was a kid. I think it’s the crown jewel of our city,” Councilman Logan Heley said on Monday.

“We have a fantastic market, but if you go there, we have outgrown our current facility,” he said. “Go there with anybody with a stroller or wheelchair or who has mobility issues, that’s a steep incline. We have a lot of improvements that need to be made.”

Gunja said the city plans to issue general obligation bonds to pay for the project.

Plans also call for a private development adjoining the market, although specific details were not discussed on Monday. Renderings show a mixed-use, multi-story building north of the market, with restrooms and office space on the ground floor to serve the public. The council agreed to allow staff to negotiate acquiring the property at 7311 W. 79th Street, to be used as part of the development.

But a few council members said they could not vote in favor of the idea due to the price tag, higher than past estimates, giving them heartburn. Several motions approving the project plans passed with two or three council members voting no.

“I’m not against the farmers market, but I am against $34 million,” Councilman Scott Mosher said, adding that the current market is already ranked as one of the best in the country. “ This is money we don’t have to spend.”

Councilman Jeff Cox said the price was “ridiculous beyond belief” and argued the project was being pushed through as “this is just something they want to do because it’s cool and exciting, and they (the council) can put their name on it that they accomplished it.”

Cox said he’d rather see the proposal go to a public vote on the ballot.

Other council members acknowledged that the price was high, especially considering it was estimated to cost more than $21 million a couple of years ago. But the majority said that was to be expected with current construction costs, and argued that the improvements are needed and will only get more expensive.

Mayor Curt Skoog said several community meetings have led to the current plans, saying that public feedback over the past several years has shown officials that there is a desire for an improved market. He said officials listened to the public when deciding to keep the market at its current location and continue to incorporate resident feedback.

“We have an aging structure,” Skoog said. “The farmers market was put together in 1991. It has a lot of infrastructure issues for what we would like the market to be moving forward. ... This is about building a location for the community into the future.”

Councilwoman Melissa Cheatham said she believes the new market will be a catalyst for future economic investment downtown.

“It will be something folks can be proud to live near, that will make folks want to live in Overland Park, make companies build headquarters in Overland Park, a place where residents will bring friends and family when they come to visit,” she said. “It is a big price tag, but it is an investment that is going to pay dividends in line with this community’s values.”

Last year, officials said nearly 260,000 people attended the farmers market, which had 58 vendors.

Officials estimate that construction could begin this winter on the new farmers market, with an estimated opening date of spring 2026. Under the timeline, the work would only interrupt one farmers market season.

During construction, city officials plan to temporarily hold the farmers market outside of the Matt Ross Community Center, as it did during the COVID-19 pandemic.