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Tremendous progress continues to happen as the City of Madison and the Madison Public Market Foundation work to make our Madison Public Market a reality. This evening, the City released an updated site plan that positions the public market for success. The updated site plan makes the following improvements to the project site plan:

1. Locates the Market closer to Burr Jones Field (large urban green space), the bike path, and the Yahara River: We’re already thinking about picnics and food fairs in the park, paddling to the Market, and enjoying outdoor seating with a view of Burr Jones Field!
2. Changes the dimensions of the Market: The new location on the site provides a more interesting architectural design of the building and will provide a long, market hall corridor, similar to other Markets like Boston and Granville.
3. Provides closer access to outdoor parking: The new location is closer in proximity to the 100 surface parking spaces planned for the city-owned property next door. The previous site plan required underground parking which is significantly more costly.

The new site plan and three different exterior architectural design concepts can be found here.

Please keep in mind that the these designs are CONCEPTUAL and will likely change once the final architectural team is selected.

Currently, the City has prepared the RFP for seeking proposals from architecture teams. The City anticipates announcing the RFP yet this summer. We’ll keep you posted on when that RFP is submitted and ultimately, which project team is selected to design and build our Public Market.

Earlier this month, the Madison Public Market Foundation hosted the Madison Public Market Holiday Magic celebration, which drew over 400 people.

Attendees were regaled with edible, wearable, sniff-able and show-off- able wares, made by vendors with a particular interest in the proposed Madison Public Market. A highlight of the evening was a chance for a photo with that bearded wonder, Santa Claus (also known as Mike Miller!) Held at Curt Brink’s vacant, eclectic space at 945 East Washington Avenue, the event was not far from the proposed location of the permanent Public Market at First & East Washington Ave.

The Holiday Magic event was the second Market preview event this year, with the first Taste of the Madison Public Market event drawing over 700 people in early October. Both provided attendees with a taste, literally, of what will be experienced at our Public Market.  The vision is for the Madison Public Market to become a significant economic driver, jump starting local food and handmade goods businesses, specifically in multicultural communities. Early-stage businesses will flourish in the Public Market through a built-in customer base, affordable rents, and support services. The market will also create opportunities for established food-based businesses. Building on Madison’s existing strengths and competitive advantages in the food industry, the market will help drive the growth of our local food economy.

The Public Market Holiday Celebration showcased those small businesses selected as MarketReady Program participants. The Madison Public Market’s MarketReady Program is an initiative sponsored by the City of Madison to provide training and micro-grants for new and existing small business entrepreneurs from diverse backgrounds who are interested in becoming Madison Public Market vendors.

The City of Madison Economic Development Department, in association with the volunteer-staffed Public Market Development Committee, are currently in negotiation with a local development group to build out the Madison Public Market space at the First Street and East Washington Avenue. With the Public Market as the highlighted feature, this public/private partnership will also add 2 towers of apartment units, office space, and restaurant/retail space to the property. Our Public Market is still on-track for a late 2019 opening.

A huge thank you to Curt Brink for the use of his space at 945 and to Gorilla Movers of Wisconsin for sponsoring the event and saving us hundreds of dollars on moving tables!

To stay updated on Public Market events and happenings, join us on Facebook or our monthly e-Update list.

If the size of the crowd and the energy apparent is any indication, the proposed Madison Public Market will be a grand success. At the October 11 “A Taste of the Madison Public Market” preview event, the more than 600 people in attendance indulged in the incredible food and learned about some of the Market’s proposed offerings.

Twenty-some vendors, many who have been accepted into the MarketReady Program, offered samples of their culinary creations or sold hand crafted jewelry, clothing, decorative magnets and even pet treats. MarketReady is focused on providing training, supportive services and micro-grants for entrepreneurs interested in becoming Madison Public Market vendors. This group of new and accelerating business owners included Curtis & Cake, Perfect Imperfections, Yerba Madre, QB’s Magnetic Creations, Off the Block Salsa, Artesan Fruit, dZi Little Tibet Mobile Cuisine, Madame Chu, Ugly Apple, Libros for Kids, Books for Niños, and SuperCharge! Foods.

More established companies with an interest in a presence at the Market were also there, offering samples of their wares and products for sale. Included were Chocolate Shoppe, Slide Food Cart and Beyond Catering, Rushing Waters Fisheries, Grasshopper Goods and American Skillet Company, Mad Urban Bees, Cafe Social, Just Coffee!, and Aaron Laux Design.

Also on display was a demonstration area of the Food Innovation Center. The Center consists of 15,000 sq. feet of the overall Market and will play a significant role in increasing local food production, ultimately increasing local food options at schools, hospitals, and restaurants across our region. Thanks to our partner FEED Kitchens for managing the demonstration area.

Music was provided by DJ 40 Roundz through a sponsorship from Dane Dances. This was only a slight representation of the music, culture and art experiences planned for both the indoor and outdoor spaces at the completed market.

Amanda White, a fundraising consultant to the Madison Public Market project gave an update regarding the Market’s progress to date, sharing site plans and preliminary architectural concepts. She encouraged donations to be made to the Public Market project. We hope you might also consider supporting the market in this way.

The Madison Public Market is on track to be built in 2019 on the First Street and East Washington Avenue site. To learn more about the market and its ongoing progress visit the City of Madison’s Public Market page. To get a sense of the Market’s potential and flavor, visit the Madison Public Market website. We are also on Facebook. If you are interested in showcasing your business at a future Public Market event, mail us at [email protected] and give us your contact info, name of your business, and a brief description. We’ll put you on the list for consideration for a future event.

Have you ever wondered if places like your favorite local restaurant, your kid’s school, or your employer’s cafeteria provide local food? The demand for more local produce and food products has been on the rise, but larger institutions have had difficulty securing enough local food options to meet the demand. An important goal of the Madison Public Market is not only to bring local food to those who visit, but also to help increase the food available throughout our region. Approximately 15,000 square feet of the Public Market will be dedicated to the yet-to-be named food innovation center, a local food production, wholesale and workforce training facility that will be a catalyst in driving Madison’s growing food economy to its full potential.

Madisonians want more local food options, so what’s the problem?

Currently, the Madison region lacks sufficient systems to connect local produce and food products to local consumers. Our growing local food economy has the potential for immense growth, but lacks these key systems to meet the demand:

• Storage and production space: Local food producers are constantly searching for affordable spaces to produce and store their food products. A simple, yet severe, lack of space is limiting the volume of local produce and products available to large institutions.
• Limited distribution system: Once more food can be produced, growers and producers must have a way to transport the food to institutions. The current model of growers/producers attempting to work individually with many large institution customers is inefficient and impractical.
• A skilled workforce: As our 21st century food system modernizes and concentrates more on the local food economy, our workforce must adapt to meet the change.

The solution…

The food production and processing facility at the Public Market will help fill the void of these missing systems and will be vital to increasing the volume and accessibility of local food throughout our community by providing the following:

• Greatly needed production space to increase the volume of local food produce and products available for large institutional buyers. For example, the Madison Metropolitan School District currently purchases thousands of pounds of local produce for school meals, which need to be processed out-of-state due to lack of local production options. Space at the Food Innovation Center can fill this gap.
• A more efficient distribution system that will enable large institution buyers to purchase from one source instead of trying to manage contracts with 20-40 different local food providers. Making it easier for large institutions to purchase goods will increase the options available.
• Workforce Training programs – As our food system evolves and grows, Madison faces an acute need for skilled workers in our food preparation and processing sectors.  The Food Innovation Center will include space for workforce training programs focused on helping people become job-ready for positions in this growing industry.  These programs will be provided by community partners including FoodWorks – a private sector collaboration between well-known Madison chefs and business owners focused on training unemployed and underemployed adults for positions in the culinary industry.

The Public Market team is continuing to finalize details of the center’s design and programming.  Between the Public Market Development Committee and the Public Market Advisory Council, the project is fortunate to be drawing on the expertise of key local food business leaders and food system experts to plan and design the Food Innovation Center.  This includes involvement from the Underground Food Collective, REAP Food Group, FEED Kitchens, the UW Center for Integrated Agriculture Systems, Fairshare CSA Coalition, several food business owners, and others.

Working together, we will build a 21^st century food system for future generations that is more sustainable, equitable, fruitful, and healthy. No matter how often you visit the Public Market, the Food Innovation Center will bring more delicious local food options to your everyday life.

For more information or to get involved with the proposed food processing and production center, contact Amanda White at [email protected]