Eastern Market continues to improve, shed by shed and block by block. This winter, Shed 3's renovations were completed, save a few minor punch-list items. The 30,000-square-foot shed, which was built in 1923, received new doors, indoor restrooms, additional water and electrical hookups and, most prominently, windows. A grand re-dedication of the facility will take place this spring.
The $5.5 million project was funded by the City of Detroit, Bank of America, the Kresge, Kellogg, Hudson-Webber and General Motors foundations and DTE Energy. The project architect was
Kraemer Design Group, the firm that is now busy with construction drawings for the next big thing in store for Eastern Market: the restoration of Shed 5.
With initial construction expected to begin this summer, Shed 5 will be renovated in two parts. First, a community kitchen will be installed in the Russell Street-facing portion of the building. The balance of the building will be renovated in a second phase. The overall project is expected to cost $4 million and will serve two purposes, says Dan Carmody, president of the
Eastern Market Corp. "It will be the home for our flower and plant growers and, with the shared-use community kitchen, we hope to (help incubate) food-related businesses and offer more educational classes around nutrition and food literacy."
Future plans call for the construction of a year-round market hall between Sheds 3 and 5 (yes, there used to be a Shed 4 there). The geothermal system for the new building will also heat a radiant floor system that will be installed in Shed 3. In the meantime, Carmody says an interim heating system is being investigated. "The good news is, since it's now sealed up better, even without the heat it's been remarkably warmer," says Carmody. "It's really made it a much more useful facility through the winter, far improved from what it was."
Eastern Market Corp. is also busy ramping up the mobile farm stand program they began in 2009, which works to distribute fresh food from the market into neighborhoods that lack access to fresh food. Read more about the initiative
here.
Source: Dan Carmody, Eastern Market Corp.
Writer: Kelli B. Kavanaugh
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