The public market, a city-owned landmark, needs better parking, a more consistent schedule and support from private donors and foundations, according to a report compiled by a local nonprofit. The 91-page document also outlines ways to improve the neighborhood and promote the market's 100th birthday in late 2012.
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View full sizeThe West Side Market, in Cleveland's Ohio City neighborhood, is owned by the city. Committees assembled by Mayor Frank Jackson have come up with recommendations to prepare for the market's 100th birthday, improve the surrounding neighborhood and better position the market for the next 100 years.CLEVELAND, Ohio -- As the West Side Market approaches its centennial, it needs a more reliable schedule, consistently good produce and a plan to support itself for the next 100 years, a long-awaited report concludes.
The city-owned landmark also needs significant repairs and better parking, possibly at a fee, according to the report from the Ohio City Near West Development Corp., a nonprofit group that has been tracking plans for the West Side Market and the surrounding neighborhood.
Submitted Friday to Mayor Frank Jackson, the document plots a path for improving the market, fixing nearby storefronts and streets and celebrating the market's birthday in late 2012.
The 91-page report reflects months of work by four centennial committees that Jackson assembled last year. The participants reached no conclusions on controversial topics such as changing the market's hours or switching up the mix of tenants.
But they outlined an effort to make the market more self-sustaining and to start mending the frayed relationship between vendors and their municipal landlord.
"I feel like we scratched the surface, but we have a whole lot more digging to do," said Amanda Dempsey, an Ohio City Near West staff member who wrote much of the report. "We have every indication that we're going to continue our partnership with the city and really start to tackle a lot of these issues."
The city has allocated roughly $400,000 for improvements to the market building in 2011 and into next year. Ohio City Near West's report calls for at least $3 million more from the city to cover renovations and a potential endowment for the market in 2013.
On top of that, the report recommends using city money to help with street and sidewalk work and improvements to building facades on West 24th Street.
Jackson is willing to consider additional investment in the market, but he cannot commit to the full $3 million, said Ken Silliman, the mayor's chief of staff.
"It's one of those recommendations that he's going to take under advisement," Silliman said. "He didn't say 'yes,' and he didn't say 'no.' "
For every public dollar, the centennial commission identified at least $2 of private money needed to fix up the market, pay for a parking garage, cultivate small businesses in the neighborhood, fund a visitors center and refashion an old locker room on the market's second floor to host cooking demonstrations and events.
The historic market building needs a complete physical assessment, and the results might require a $7 million capital campaign for repairs and maintenance, according to the report.
"I think it's this kind of report that lets us go out and get big dollars outside of the city's budget," said Councilman Joe Cimperman, whose ward includes the market. "Cleveland has its industrial parks. Now we have a local food economy park. It's called the West Side Market."
Another potential funding source would be parking fees, which could help pay for a garage on a city-owned lot or one of several other properties in the neighborhood. People who park in the market lots -- now free -- could be charged, though shoppers might get a certain amount of time for free or at a reduced cost if they have tickets validated. In other cities, similar systems generate hundreds of thousands of dollars in annual parking revenues.
"A lot of the things they recommended are great, but they're things that should have been that way already," said Vince Bertonaschi, head of the market's tenants association and a participant in the centennial discussions. "We shouldn't have had to worry about parking."
Bertonaschi said tenants are eager for repairs to the building. But some vendors, who feel the city should have tackled these problems years ago, won't believe anything is changing until they see the roof fixed, the plumbing replaced, the basement -- where they store and prepare food -- updated, and the bathrooms renovated.
And several longtime tenants don't want to discuss hours. The market is open four days a week, but many vendors set their own hours and a handful of stands sit dark on Mondays.
"Let's say they said 'Wednesday, we'll start two hours later and we'll stay two hours longer,' " said Bertonaschi, who owns Vince's Meats and spends Mondays in the basement cutting beef. "I could go along with something like that. But as far as forcing somebody to open Mondays? No. As far as forcing somebody to open Sundays? No."
The commission's report calls on the city to enforce its leases with tenants or change the hours to something that works better for customers and vendors. To determine the best hours, Ohio City Near West is compiling results from customer surveys and plans to install traffic-counting devices soon on the market's doors.
Silliman said the city does not have a stance yet on hours.