Rendering of the proposed Broad Street Market project.
Harrisburg officials on Thursday assured the community that the Broad Street Market rebuild is of top importance.
At a press conference, Mayor Wanda Williams said that restoring the market’s fire-damaged brick building is still the focus of the city, even as they weigh the possibility of building a new structure in the market’s courtyard.
Williams explained that she wanted to clear up confusion about the city’s priorities for the project, following her announcement that she would like to expand the market. Earlier this month, she said that she proposed building a connector building in the market courtyard to join the two existing buildings and provide covered space for vendors.
However, city officials said that they have heard concern from residents and market officials and vendors about the direction and wanted to assure everyone that the brick building restoration is first on the to-do list.
“Although we do have the entire campus of the project in our thoughts […] our focus is on the brick building itself where we did have a total loss,” said Dave Baker, director of facilities and special projects. “We are focusing on that first. We are not letting anything else slow us down.”
According to Rebecca McCormick, architect with Murphy & Dittenhafer Architects, which is designing the project, the historic exterior of the brick building will remain. The masonry is in good shape, she said, and will be restored. The inside of the building, however, will likely be completely modernized, with a new look and layout. The architects are also hopeful that, with the new interior design, more vendors will be able to fit inside the building.
Additionally, they are considering a mezzanine with seating for the public.
Baker expects that, by June, architectural drawings will be completed and selected for the project, with the bidding process taking place shortly after. The city aims to start construction on the brick building by Sept. 1.
“We have been working on this. There is not one day that goes by that we are not working on the Broad Street Market,” Baker said.
As part of the market project, Harrisburg officials said they plan to modernize the stone building as well, replacing the roof, adding heating and cooling and making it ADA-accessible. Both buildings will have fire suppression infrastructure.
The possible connector building that the city has proposed constructing in the courtyard would take the last priority and would require the city to secure additional funding. Plans for that structure are in the “rough draft” stage, Baker said. However, he noted that any planning for that building does not take away from work on the brick building plans as the architectural firm has a team of people who are evaluating all aspects of the market.
Additionally, Baker and Williams said that they have recently met with Broad Street Market officials and vendors to discuss plans, something that they had not done before proposing the new connector building.
Williams said that the city will begin holding monthly press briefings to provide updates on the Broad Street Market progress.
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