By Andy Furman
NKyTribune staff writer
One hundred ninety-five years — and counting. That’s how long they have been looking for a permanent home.
And the end is near – maybe.
The Center for Great Neighborhoods held an Open House for discussion about a new proposal for the use of land on the property in front of Covington’s John G. Carlisle Elementary School.
The Center is partnering with the City of Covington, The Covington Motor Vehicle Parking Authority, and the Covington Independent Public Schools, to turn the space into two parcels that would serve multiple uses.
One would provide a permanent home for the Covington Farmers Market and the other would provide for commercial development and housing.
And some 100 community residents, as well as local leaders, met Monday afternoon at John G. Carlisle to discuss the move.
“We are at the very beginning of this project,” Erin Graham, a board member for The Center as well as a Farmers Market Committee member, told the Northern Kentucky Tribune. “The design has just started. We’re looking at a good two-to-three years before we’re completed.”
Those Farmers Market vendors – now operating on Washington Street between Pike and West Sixth the last two years – are used to moving.
What started as a market house in 1830 – is now Park Place. In fact, should the move to Pike between Holman and Banklick occur, it would be the 12th such move since the Market debuted in 1830.
The Center has been looking for a permanent home for The Farmers Market, which is open every Saturday from May-October, 9 a.m.-1 p.m., rain or shine.
The Center wants a large open space that can house the current 25-plus weekly vendors plus adequate room to grow, space for farm trucks to access the building, a central location near the urban core of the city to allow easy access to pedestrians, cyclists, and motorists alike.
The plan includes expanding the parking and constructing a pavilion for the permanent market. It includes a city-built sidewalk between Holman and Banklick.
And from the feedback of several local vendors who attended the meeting, well, they ike the idea.
“I would love a permanent home for the Market,” Steve Grundhoefer, who handles the Oakley Woodworks booth at the Market, told the Northern Kentucky Tribune, “if it didn’t cost more.”
Presently, a booth at the Market – for the 26 Saturdays – has a $175 fee. A twice-a-month stipend costs $100.
Lenette Beasley, who lives on Covington’s East Side, told the Tribune she is considering a booth at the Market. “I’m very interested,” she said. “My son-in-law sells Healthy Harvest Juice in Louisville; and I’d like to introduce that here.”
The new Market will become a multi-user, multifunctional landmark on the Pike Street Corridor, according to a concept handed out at the meeting. It will serve as a destination and public gathering spot for all of Covington.
The property is located at the juncture of Main Strasse, Old Seminary Square, Old Town/Mutter Gottes, and Westside. It is within close walking distance of Eastside, the Central Business District, Licking Riverside, Peaselburg, Lewisburg, as well as the new central riverfront neighborhood.
This space will serve as an iconic gateway element for visitors to The Cov from I-71/75.
“If successful,” Tom West, soon to retire Covington Economic Development Director said, “a second day can be added for the Market vendors. I believe the Lexington Market now is open Tuesday, Thursdays, and Sunday.”
The Covington Board of Education intends to reinvest proceeds from the sale of 257 East Pike Street back into the John G. Carlisle Elementary campus in a way that aligns with the district’s existing Master Faculties Plan.
Because the Pike Market project will transform the front portion of the property into a new community asset, the Board wants to use this opportunity to thoughtfully consider the remaining outdoor spaces on the campus, including the playground and the ball field areas, and how they can be maximized for student use and community benefit, according to the concept report.
Angelique Green, the Custodial Supervisor the past two-and-a-half years at Carlisle Elementary, was a bit concerned with the project.
“We do have summer programs and activities here,” she told the Tribune. “We have Water Wednesdays and a Fall Festival with a pumpkin patch and hayrides. These activities are important for our school.”
Yet, this is an investment for all these neighborhoods to come together, West says.
Britney Fields is a Cincinnatian who is a first-year Farmers Market vendor. “I’m a farmer,” she told the Tribune. “I like the idea. There is more parking here. And, as far as customers, many of them walk anyway. Covington is walkable. I like what I see in Covington and their growing development.”
As for the re-use of the Western/German Security Bank Building – The Center for Great Neighborhoods will redevelop the second and third floors of this historic structure into four, one-bedroom apartments. And The Center will redevelop the ground floor commercial unit (approximately 3,400 square feet) as for-lease retail spaces. Target tenants may include a food hub offering fresh produce and other locally grown, value-added, and fresh food products for sale to residents and visitors, or other uses that complement the proximity to the Farmers Market.
The remainder of the project will be developed into a landscaped surface parking lot, owned and operated by the Covington Motor Vehicle Parking Authority. This will provide relief for existing parking demands from businesses and residents. A new sidewalk connecting Banklick and Holman Streets in the area of the former 9th Street right-of-way will be built to serve students, parents and the community.
Perhaps Tom West summed it up best: “We of the community have not committed for a better home.”
Now they have.
