SUBJECT/RECOMMENDATION:
Title
Approve a conceptual plan, as prepared by consulting group Project for Public Spaces Inc., for a public market/mercado in the Downtown Gateway neighborhood, and authorize city and CRA staff to proceed with project implementation.
Body
SUMMARY:
The City of Clearwater’s vision for a Downtown Gateway mercado, or public market, began in 2011 with the East Gateway Vision Plan, a comprehensive plan prepared by consulting firm Gensler. In this plan, Gensler called on the City to strive to do the following in the Downtown Gateway neighborhood:
• Energize the community
• Create a greater sense of pride
• Attract businesses
• Attract people
• Become a destination
Gensler’s revitalization strategy for the Gateway was reinforced in June 2014 with the Urban Land Institute’s (ULI) report called Clearwater Florida: A New Vision for Downtown. In the report, ULI proposes a “community market,” which can “…take the form of a mercado, a traditional fixed market in Mexico…with numerous stands…rented by individual merchants to sell produce and other basic food staples.” ULI states that “…the Mercado would form the civic core of the neighborhood where people could gather in the evening to stroll and chat while enjoying delicious food from local eateries.”
To advance the mercado project, the CRA hired consulting firm Project for Public Spaces (PPS) in January 2017. PPS visited Downtown Clearwater in February 2107 to conduct site visits, host public workshops, meet with stakeholders, and develop a more defined concept for the mercado. In addition, PPS and CRA staff surveyed community members as well as potential vendors to better understand the demand for a mercado.
PPS’ conceptual plan is a community-based plan whose implementation will integrate with the Cleveland Streetscape Phase III project, as well as the larger ‘festival core.’