When visiting the Market Arcade last evening, I was reminded just how stunning the place really is. While I stood on the mezzanine overlooking the first floor I couldn’t help but envision what the building could, and should, become. To me, the Market Arcade cries out to be a food marketplace. Have you ever been to the Grand Central Market (see photo below) in NYC? It’s a smaller version of the Saint Lawrence Market in Toronto. It features a narrow central aisle with food purveyors to the left and the right. There’s a cheese vendor, a butcher, a fish monger, a flower stall, sweets, cooked and uncooked dinners, pastas, etc. It’s a bit more upscale, with enough items to be considered a one stop shop.
I’m not sure about the occupancy rate of the Market Arcade, but it appears that there might be a number of open office spaces on the upper floors for the current first floor occupants (mostly organizations) to move into. After all, shouldn’t we being trying to reinvent public spaces that don’t draw the crowds that they should? Other cities would kill to have a building such as the Market Arcade. I’m not sure if anyone has ever really put a comprehensive plan together to get this building buzzing. I have friends who come in from out of town who can’t believe the missed opportunity. Maybe start with a mix of galleries (since there are already a couple in there) and food, and see how things go from there. This building is too important to the renaissance of Main Street to sit so idle. Let’s make it a destination.