A year before the scheduled move of the Essex Street Market into a new home in the Essex Crossing project, city officials are going public with a few details about the new facility. The Economic Development Corp. (EDC) yesterday announced it is accepting applications for two new restaurants and 11 smaller vendors to be part of the expanded public market. We’re also getting our first look at renderings and floor plans.
All of the existing (28) vendors will be moving across the street to 115 Delancey St., on the first two levels of a building that will also include a 14-screen movie theater and rental apartments. The EDC is looking for two restaurant operators for spaces that each measure about 1100 square feet. According to a press release, the city seeks, “independent, locally-based restaurateurs or restaurant groups who are interested in using farm-to-table seasonal produce or other regional foods on their menus.” They will have their own entrances (on Delancey and Broome streets), “built into the new façade of the market.”
The existing vendors have already chosen their locations in the new facility. According to a floor plan, additional spaces are available ranging from 87 square feet to 534 square feet. More information and application materials are available here.
The new market is supposed to open in June of next year and the current market will remain operational up until that time. The ground floor covers 30,000 square feet (about twice the size of the current facility). There’s also a 6,000 square foot mezzanine. There will be a demonstration kitchen for catered events and public classes. There will also be a “late night zone” for merchants who wish to stay open until 8 p.m. Right now, the whole facility shuts down at 7 p.m.
In yesterday’s press release, Vendor Association Chair Anne Saxelby of Saxelby Cheesemongers, said, “I am thrilled about the move to a new space… The market is a Lower East Side institution, and in a city where the retail landscape is becoming ever more homogenized, it’s so exciting to see the expansion and continuation of this unique and diverse community of small businesses. It’s markets like Essex that make New York great!”
Lower East Side Partnership President Tim Laughlin added, “We are excited to partner with NYCEDC to ensure the market continues to thrive and grow supporting existing vendors and welcoming new ones in a state-of-the-art facility; this unique opportunity allows the market to continue supporting a diverse collection of small and independent merchants for many years to come.”
As we reported in April, the Vendor Association, the LES Partnership and the EDC recently came to terms on an agreement for operating the new market. While the EDC will continue to manage the facility, the vendors and the Partnership will take on more responsibilities in marketing and running the market on a day-to-day basis.
The new Essex Street Market is meant to complement a subterranean shopping pavilion known as the Market Line, a major feature of the Essex Crossing mixed-use development. The Market Line will begin directly below the Essex Street Market, eventually extending to the east in two buildings that will be constructed during phase 2 of the project.
