Iconic Old Strathcona Farmers' Market to get long-awaited upgrades
Whatever a farmers' market connoisseur wants, the Old Strathcona market usually has.
Since it was transformed from a bus barn in 1983, the market along 83 Avenue has become the go-to location for grocery shoppers focused on buying local in central Edmonton.
The only thing missing has been upgrades to the market's infrastructure. But that will soon change as a major modernization is in the works.
"We deal with 127 businesses under this roof. Everybody needs to know we’re not going to shut the facility down during renovations," says Keith Persaud, the Old Strathcona Farmers' Market manager.
After two years of planning and community engagement, the market has announced Clark Builders as the contractor entrusted with providing a dollar amount for the much-needed improvements. Then the process will begin to find funding for the project from government and private sources.
“We need it to be here for the next 40 years, we are an icon in the community, and in order for us to be AHS-compliant moving forward, we have to renovate,” added Persaud.
That means proper hand-washing sinks along with upgraded sewage lines and other infrastructure improvements in order to become what Persaud hopes is a multi-day market.
“We want to open up Friday and Saturdays, we want to activate the building seven days a week with a general store, a food kiosk out front, so the community can use it for corporate, social and community events, make the building active."
The hope is that the shopping experience won’t be affected while the needed improvements such as HVAC work on the roof, LED lighting installation and co-ed bathroom renovations get underway.
“We want to keep the eclectic nature of the market, it's not cookie cutter,” says Persaud.
If all goes well with funding, main construction will begin early in 2023. And along with keeping customers comfortable, the market understands its many vendors must be able to stay open and viable.
And true to its unique stature as a weekend magnet for thousands, the modernization will happen in a unique manner, meaning no dust filled areas thanks to new technology.
Persaud hopes the full construction could be finished by the fall of next year to coincide with the market's 40th anniversary.
“There’s a few secrets that we are planning such as a rooftop garden with bees…I think you will be impressed.”
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Cuban government apologizes to Montreal-area family after delivering wrong body
Cuba's foreign affairs minister has apologized to a Montreal-area family after they were sent the wrong body following the death of a loved one.
What is changing about Canada's capital gains tax and how does it impact me?
The federal government's proposed change to capital gains taxation is expected to increase taxes on investments and mainly affect wealthy Canadians and businesses. Here's what you need to know about the move.
'Anything to win': Trudeau says as Poilievre defends meeting protesters
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is accusing Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre of welcoming 'the support of conspiracy theorists and extremists,' after the Conservative leader was photographed meeting with protesters, which his office has defended.
Quebec nurse had to clean up after husband's death in Montreal hospital
On a night she should have been mourning, a nurse from Quebec's Laurentians region says she was forced to clean up her husband after he died at a hospital in Montreal.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
Northern Ont. lawyer who abandoned clients in child protection cases disbarred
A North Bay, Ont., lawyer who abandoned 15 clients – many of them child protection cases – has lost his licence to practise law.
'My stomach dropped': Winnipeg man speaks out after being criminally harassed following single online date
A Winnipeg man said a single date gone wrong led to years of criminal harassment, false arrests, stress and depression.
Police tangle with students in Texas and California as wave of campus protest against Gaza war grows
Police tangled with student demonstrators in Texas and California while new encampments sprouted Wednesday at Harvard and other colleges as school leaders sought ways to defuse a growing wave of pro-Palestinian protests.
Something in the water? Canadian family latest to spot elusive 'Loch Ness Monster'
For centuries, people have wondered what, if anything, might be lurking beneath the surface of Loch Ness in Scotland. When Canadian couple Parry Malm and Shannon Wiseman visited the Scottish highlands earlier this month with their two children, they didn’t expect to become part of the mystery.