For the first time in 40 years Pike Place Market underwent a major remodel, called MarketFront. Pike Place Market has been a working commerce center in the city since 1907, drawing 10 million visitors per year and last month the $74 million MarketFront project opened to the public. Built on the former site of the Municipal Market, which was torn down in 1974 after a fire and replaced with a parking lot, this project completed the last .75-acre out of the 9 acre historic Pike Place Market neighborhood.
In design, they wanted to create a timeless feel and keep it in line with the historic character of the area, combining several small spaces to accommodate a larger audience. The MarketFront includes 30,000 square feet of open public space including a public plaza and viewing deck, 47 rooftop day stalls for farmers and artists in the all weather pavilion, 12,000 square feet of commercial and retail space in the new Producers Hall, 40 new units of low-income senior housing including 7 live/work units for senior artists, the Market Commons—a neighborhood center with expanded social services and 300 covered parking spaces and 33 bicycle spaces.
New MarketFront businesses include: Old Stove Brewing Co., Little Fish, Honest Biscuits and indi chocolate. Donor elements can be spotted throughout the MarketFront including bronze hoof prints cemented in the concrete forming a path from Western to the vendor shelter, along with 5,500 sparkling charms on the railings.
This is the beginning of what life will look like in a post-viaduct Seattle with the Overlook Walk eventually connecting the MarketFront to the Waterfront.
