Temporary structure for market vendors
At least another month will go by before Harrisburg completes its temporary structure for displaced Broad Street Market vendors.
According to Matt Maisel, the city’s communications director, the temporary tent will not open until 2024 due to a lack of bids from contractors.
The city is constructing the structure, located in a grassy lot adjacent to the market, to house market vendors displaced by a July fire, which damaged the brick market building and caused it to close. However, the process has been delayed several times, as the city has struggled to find contractors to handle electrical and plumbing work.
Harrisburg previously issued a request for bids through Keystone Purchasing Network, a private platform that only includes certified contractors, hoping that would speed up the process. However, according to Maisel, the city only received one bid for plumbing, which was too high. The city has now decided to expand its reach and look for bids through a public platform, PennBid, Maisel said.
Using PennBid will require that the bidding is open for at least 10 days. However, with the upcoming holidays, the city anticipates extending the window through the end of the year, Maisel said.
Even if contractors were selected quickly, they would not be able to complete the work by the end of the year, Maisel said.
Additionally, the city is preparing to issue a request for proposals (RFP) to find an architect for the market’s brick building rebuild project.
Last week, Harrisburg published a webpage to share updates on the market rebuild and temporary structure construction.
In some positive market news, longtime brick building vendor Lil’s Pretzels opened last week in the market’s stone building, which remains open.
For information and updates on the Broad Street Market, click here.
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