Downtown Farmers Market may become a year-round fixture at revitalized Pioneer Park
Utah's largest farmers market could become a year-round staple at Pioneer Park.
Driving the news: Salt Lake City Mayor Erin Mendenhall and the Downtown Alliance signed an agreement Thursday to revitalize Pioneer Park with plans to build a permanent structure for the market and form a public-private partnership to manage the 10-acre park.
Why it matters: Pioneer Park, which hosts the Downtown Farmers Market each summer, has suffered a poor reputation for decades, perceived as unsafe and affected by homelessness.
What they're saying: In a statement, Downtown Alliance executive director Dee Brewer said he believes "we can change the chemistry of the park."
"We have done it every summer Saturday for 34 years with the Downtown Farmers Market," he said. "Pioneer Park is safe, active and communal on market days. We are ready to build on that success to vitalize the park and the neighborhood."
"Pioneer Park is a cornerstone of our downtown heritage, and it has long been full of untapped potential," Mendenhall said in a statement.
State of play: Under the memorandum of understanding, the alliance is proposing lawn games, cafe-style seating, a beverage bar and staffed bathrooms.
The permanent building would also host community and private events and downtown ambassadors, who will have a daily presence at the park.
That's on top of the projects already funded and included in the city's Pioneer Park Vision Plan.
Construction is planned to begin this fall on amenities including a picnic pavilion, a mist fountain plaza, a contemporary playground, a basketball court, and six pickleball courts.
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Yahoo
23-05-2025
- Yahoo
Pioneer Park revitalization will feature year-round farmer's market
SALT LAKE CITY () — In a major step to revitalize downtown, the Downtown Alliance announced a new partnership with the city on Thursday morning, focused on giving Pioneer Park a makeover. Their freshly signed 'Memorandum of Understanding', between the Downtown Alliance and Salt Lake City, aims to breathe new life into Pioneer Park — an area that's long been plagued by low visitation rates — by creating an all-year-round public market building. 'Now, let's be honest. Pioneer Park has a bad reputation,' Dee Brewer, executive director of Downtown Alliance, said at the annual meeting in the Gallivan Center. 'Last year, the average daily park visitation was less than 170 people a day.' The Downtown Alliance saw a solution to this problem in the park's farmers market, which has proven to be a magnet for the community's foot traffic. Pioneer Park will get a facelift in 2025 – Here's what Salt Lake City is adding According to Brewer, 65% of park visits occurred on just 21 days, all of those being when the farmers' market was open. The new public building aims to keep this momentum going all year round. Preliminary plans include a beverage bar, clean restrooms, a large hall, and a community gathering space that would become home to an all-year-round farmer's market, according to Carly Gillespie, director of Urban Food Connections of Utah. 'We want to continue to create social and economic prosperity in the neighborhood and in downtown Salt Lake,' Gillespie said. The Downtown Alliance's proposed building would also provide a permanent space for the Downtown Ambassadors, offering a visible presence in the park to create a stronger sense of safety. Salt Lake City said that the Public Lands Department collected feedback from over 2,800 people and worked with community groups to choose the planned amenities. The park is also seeking a SITES certification — a framework that recognizes sustainability and resilience in design, development, and management. The alliance said in a press release that they are looking to actively conduct public outreach and feasibility assessment throughout this year. A clearer timeline of completion is expected once those steps are finished. 'We look forward to the results of the feasibility study, which the Downtown Alliance will begin leading this summer,' said Blake Thomas, Senior Advisor on Real Estate and Capital Projects. 'This study, along with the efforts our Public Lands team has undertaken, has the potential to transform this park into a year-round destination and serve as a model for public-private partnerships to enhance our City assets.' The project complements the Pioneer Park Vision Plan, which was developed in 2021 to revitalize the area, following the City Council's approval of $3.44 million in 2019. In 2022, $10 million in funding through the City's $67.5 million Sales Tax Bond was approved for the project. In 2024, an additional $.96 million was allocated for the Vision Plan, allowing the city to begin implementation. 'Pioneer Park is a cornerstone of our downtown heritage, and it has long been full of untapped potential,' said Mayor Mendenhall. 'This public-private partnership with the Downtown Alliance paves the way for positive change and increased public safety — while working in concert with the long-planned park improvements Salt Lakers have asked for.' GOP campaign arm tells Republicans to 'go on offense' messaging Trump agenda bill Crimson Cliffs wins 4A soccer title over Dixie, 3-0 Pioneer Park revitalization will feature year-round farmer's market Israeli Embassy suspect charged with murder of a foreign official Bodycam footage released from officer-involved shooting near Lake Powell Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Axios
22-05-2025
- Axios
Downtown Farmers Market may become a year-round fixture at revitalized Pioneer Park
Utah's largest farmers market could become a year-round staple at Pioneer Park. Driving the news: Salt Lake City Mayor Erin Mendenhall and the Downtown Alliance signed an agreement Thursday to revitalize Pioneer Park with plans to build a permanent structure for the market and form a public-private partnership to manage the 10-acre park. Why it matters: Pioneer Park, which hosts the Downtown Farmers Market each summer, has suffered a poor reputation for decades, perceived as unsafe and affected by homelessness. What they're saying: In a statement, Downtown Alliance executive director Dee Brewer said he believes "we can change the chemistry of the park." "We have done it every summer Saturday for 34 years with the Downtown Farmers Market," he said. "Pioneer Park is safe, active and communal on market days. We are ready to build on that success to vitalize the park and the neighborhood." "Pioneer Park is a cornerstone of our downtown heritage, and it has long been full of untapped potential," Mendenhall said in a statement. State of play: Under the memorandum of understanding, the alliance is proposing lawn games, cafe-style seating, a beverage bar and staffed bathrooms. The permanent building would also host community and private events and downtown ambassadors, who will have a daily presence at the park. That's on top of the projects already funded and included in the city's Pioneer Park Vision Plan. Construction is planned to begin this fall on amenities including a picnic pavilion, a mist fountain plaza, a contemporary playground, a basketball court, and six pickleball courts.
Yahoo
22-05-2025
- Yahoo
Salt Lake City wants to make popular farmers market year-round with latest Pioneer Park idea
The Salt Lake City Downtown Farmers Market has become one of the largest in the nation since it debuted in 1992. More than 250,000 shoppers attended last year's summer market, exploring produce and other items from over than 300 vendors who came from 16 Utah counties to sell their products at Pioneer Park, according to the Salt Lake City Downtown Alliance, which oversees the weekly event. The city now wants it to become more than just a seasonal event at the park. Salt Lake City leaders unveiled plans for a new public market building to help the park become a 'year-round home' for the market and other events. The city has also tentatively reached a memorandum of understanding with the Downtown Alliance to potentially create a new public-private partnership to manage future park operations, Salt Lake City Mayor Erin Mendenhall announced Thursday. 'A future where Pioneer Park is utilized to its full potential is a future where Salt Lakers feel more connected to each other, to the outdoors and to our community,' she said in a statement. 'This partnership with the Downtown Alliance builds on decades of success with the Farmers Market and opens the door to that aspiration.' The announcement comes as the downtown park is due for a major overhaul. Salt Lake City plans to break ground on its Pioneer Park Vision Plan this fall, an $18.4 million project that seeks to drastically overhaul the park, which draws large crowds when the market is open but is often empty at other times. On average, fewer than 170 people visited the park every day last year, per the city. A new playground, plaza, pavilion and ranger station, new pickleball courts and a fenced off-leash dog area and natural habitat section are among planned features for the park through the separate project led by the city's public lands division. The city also shared renderings of a new art piece to be installed next year earlier this month. A year-round market could be another feature, but the building would also host a mix of public and private events when the market isn't open, according to the Downtown Alliance. It would replace its current winter market location at the Gateway. The downtown business nonprofit added that it would like to add elements like lawn games, cafe seating, a beverage bar and public bathrooms at the facility. The building's design and other elements are still subject to Salt Lake City Council approval. Construction is tentatively expected to begin as early as 2026. City officials say they will conduct feasibility assessments this year as the proposal goes through a public process. The downtown market not only brings crowds to the park, but also it's become a 'phenomenal economic tool,' resulting in $11 million in annual direct-to-consumer sales, Dee Brewer, executive director of the Downtown Alliance, reported to the City Council earlier this year. It could also help turn one of the city's lowest-rated parks around, he added on Thursday. 'Pioneer Park has endured a bad reputation for decades. We know we can change the chemistry of the park. We have done it every summer Saturday for 34 years with the Downtown Farmers Market,' he said. This year's market returns to the park on June 7. It will continue on most Saturdays through Oct. 25.
