After years of bouncing from one location to another, the Covington Farmers Market may finally have a permanent home.
Covington residents and leaders came out to John G. Carlisle Elementary Monday for an open house on the newly proposed permanent location. Although some residents were pleased the market was finally going to get a permanent home, others worried the proposal was too aggressive on the cutting down of green space.
The Farmers Market itself isn’t new, but it’s never had a permanent, fixed location. It’s been set up at various locations throughout the city over the years, including the Pike Street arcade, Mainstrasse and a space on Madison Avenue. It moved to Washington Street last year.
“There’s a direct correlation between the number of vendors and visitors and how many times we change locations,” said Erin Graham, who’s the chair of the Center for Great Neighborhood’s Farmers Market Committee. Graham said the market currently averages about 20 vendors per session. Those numbers decline any time the market moves.
The Center for Great Neighborhoods is one of the institutions that’s heading up the development of the new site. The property is located near John G. Carlisle Elementary School on Pike Street between Holman and Banklick Streets and includes a small parking lot, some open space and an old bank building.
The Covington Board of Education sold the land to the city for $300,000 in June. The proceeds from the sale will be reinvested into the school’s playground, according to Covington Board of Education Chair Tom Haggard. The Center for Great Neighborhoods and the Covington Motor Vehicle Parking Authority each contributed $150,000 to fund the purchase of the land, and the Covington Economic Development Authority has recommended $500,000 to partially bankroll the redevelopment.
Additionally, said Mayor Ron Washington, a private donor has contributed funds to redeveloping the bank building, specifically for affordable housing. The plan is to convert the second and third floors of the building into four single-bedroom apartments marketed to teachers in the district. The bottom floor will be leased to commercial tenants once completed.
“We want to align those rent price points as something that a first- or second-year teacher can pay for with about 30% of their income,” said Center for Great Neighborhoods Executive Director Shannon Ratterman. A full-time teacher with zero to two years’ experience can make between roughly $44,000 and $57,000, depending on their rank, according to the district’s most recent salary schedule.
The mayor declined to share the donor’s identity.
The plans presented at the open house were very early in development; the final product will likely look different. Still, there were mixed feelings from the residents in attendance at the event.
One resident who frequented the farmers market, J.J. Berg, said he thought it is “great” the market was getting a new home, but other residents were worried the plan signaled a decline in green space around the school.
“We don’t need something permanent for the few weeks of the year we use the farmers market,” said resident Jane Sanbdhan.
The paved area under the market shelter would serve as parking when not in use, under the proposed plan, although it would be conceivably possible to host one-off events there every now and again.
Another resident, Jan Thurman, admitted that “something needs to happen” with the old bank building but thought the plans could be improved.
“I’m not quite sure that we have our finger on it, but at least the discussion is happening,” Thurman said.