Richland promises public market supporters a hearing

Supporters of creating a regional market in Richland won a victory Tuesday night when Mayor Bob Thompson promised a public meeting on the charged topic.

More than 150 market supporters crowded the Richland council chambers to stand in silent support of building the Tri-Cities Public Market at 650 George Washington Way, better known as “the pit,” rather than in Howard Amon Park near the “fingernail,” as suggested by a consultant.

Adam Brault, the public face of the public market, rallied supporters on Facebook to let the council know the 650 site is the better option. They signed petitions and toted signs imploring the council to “Spare the Park, Fill the Pit,” among other sentiments.

Brault is part of a development team that hopes to transform the pit into a market-anchored mixed-use development with office, residential and parking space. His partner, the Crown Group, has a development agreement with the city for a more traditional strip mall.

A little more than a week ago, consultant Roger Brooks identified the two potential market sites during a council retreat to discuss its vision for linking downtown and the Columbia River waterfront. His recommendations are expected to be presented to the public in February.

The mayor, confronted by the silent but passionate crowd, promised Brault he would get the public council hearing he sought.

“You will get that opportunity,” he promised. “Your passion doesn’t go unrecognized.”

Erik Ralston, team leader and technical architect for Live Tiles, a Richland software company housed at the Fuse, is a market supporter who was horrified to see Howard Amon Park proposed as a site.

“I took my first girlfriend there. I take my kids there,” he said.

Siting the market on George Washington Way would make it a regional attraction, he said, echoing Brault’s argument that putting it in the park makes it a city, not regional, amenity.

Modeled on Seattle’s Pike Place Market, the Tri-Cities Public Market would be a year-round host to florists, food vendors, farmers, growler fillers and similar small-scale businesses.

How to pay for the market’s construction is driving much of the public conversation. Brault estimates it will require $18 million in public funding to avoid saddling the market with commercial debt. The cost of a traditional loan would push rents too high for small vendors to pay, undermining the market’s core purpose.

Brault wants the Tri-Cities Regional Facilities District to package the market with two other regional amenities, a performing arts center in Kennewick and an aquatic center in Pasco, and present them to the region’s voters as a “Grand Bargain.”

Richland and Pasco officials have expressed little interest in being part of the Grand Bargain. On Tuesday, Thompson indicated that sentiment has not changed.

Nothing’s stopping supporters from developing 650 George Washington Way if they use private money, Thompson said.

This story was originally published February 2, 2016 at 9:53 PM with the headline "Richland promises public market supporters a hearing."