17th Street Farmers’ Market revamp won’t be done by big bike race
Burying the power lines is going to take more time and planning than originally thought.
The city has repeatedly stated that the rehab of the 17th Street Farmers’ Market was planned to be done by the time the 2015 UCI Road World Championships rolled into town. The timetable made sense, world attention will be on our city and it would have served as a great spot to view the race. Not only that it would have provided countless photographs with Main Street Station in the background and show the citizens of Richmond that the city can actually move forward with a plan.
The hold up seems to be the plan to put the power lines below ground.
“It cannot be finished by the 2015 bike race,” Welliver said.
Like many city projects being planned, the proposal to turn the market site into a more versatile, open plaza was originally timed to be completed before Richmond hosts the UCI Road World Championships.
The city may even wait to begin the major work until after the bike race. Welliver said the existing sheds may come down before the race, which would allow the area to be used as a “fan zone” for some of the 450,000 spectators expected to attend the race.
Monday’s presentation was a review of the conceptual design of the market overhaul. The final approvals for the project likely won’t occur until next year, Welliver said, but the city is having internal conversations about when to start the work.
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Richard Hayes
When Richard isn’t rounding up neighborhood news, he’s likely watching soccer or chasing down the latest and greatest craft beer.
Notice: Comments that are not conducive to an interesting and thoughtful conversation may be removed at the editor’s discretion.
If VCU can build an entire building in less than a semester, I don’t think it’s impossible for RVA to do some work in a year.