As summer ends and fall begins, construction on the MarketFront expansion enters into its final months. Major components of the project are now visible, like the low-income housing building and the retail structure. The steel structure of the new vendor canopy on the plaza is also taking shape. Construction will be completed in January, after which the build-out for the new MarketFront tenant spaces will begin. The Pike Place Market community looks forward to holding a grand opening in summer 2017.

New to the MarketFront? For the first time in 40 years, Pike Place Market is growing! The Market-centric expansion will reclaim an underutilized surface parking lot that has long been part of the Market Historic District. Before it was a parking lot, the site was home to the Market Municipal building, built in the 1920s. The design for the MarketFront includes a dynamic public plaza with views of Puget Sound and Olympic Mountains, table space for farmers, craftspeople and artisan purveyors, retail space, low-income housing, a neighborhood center and parking.

Check out the photos of the site today side-by-side with renderings by The Miller Hull Partnership to get a sense of how the future MarketFront will look!

Sellen Construction has nearly completed exterior glazing, and will continue wrapping the exterior of the residential structure. Installation of “glulams,” the large wooden beams that provide the structure for the entire structure/retail space, is roughly 60% complete, and concrete stairs, pathways and planters continue to be poured throughout the site.

Mechanical, electrical and plumbing “rough-in” is moving quickly throughout the residential and commercial structures.

A 16-foot-wide breezeway connects Western Avenue with new retail shops and a public plaza with views of Elliott Bay.

Visitors and vendors alike will enjoy the all-weather canopy with 47 table spaces on the new MarketFront plaza. Rollup doors keep out stormy weather, allowing year-round shopping for locally made crafts and farm specialty products.

The MarketFront also includes 40 new units of low-income senior housing and the expansion of social services in the Market with a new Neighborhood Center on Western Avenue.

The site of the future Pike Place MarketFront was home to the Municipal Market Building, the original home of Bavarian Meats. In 1974, the building was demolished after a fire damaged the building. For decades, the site remained a surface parking lot (pictured above,

Now, 40 years later, the Market is able to complete the vision to rebuild this site due to plans to demolish the Viaduct and the city’s greater waterfront vision. The MarketFront will provide a connection to the waterfront, as well as public space from which to enjoy spectacular views.

Learn more about the new MarketFront: http://pikeup.org/project/

Be part of this historic project and help us finish the MarketFront. Pike Up!