- Salt Lake City's Downtown Farmers Market to adjust this year as Pioneer Park undergoes major renovations.
- Construction begins in March affecting market layout; parts of 400 West and 300 South to be used.
- The $18.4M project aims to enhance park amenities and reduce crime, per the city.
SALT LAKE CITY — One of Salt Lake City's top summer weekend traditions will look a little different this year, as work begins to improve its usual home.
Organizers of the Salt Lake City Downtown Farmers Market are planning to turn the weekly event into a partial street affair this summer while crews work on a massive overhaul of Pioneer Park. Construction, set to begin soon, will close off most of the park, leading to a plan to use some of the roads next to it to maintain the same number of vendors as in previous years.
Exact details and approvals are still being finalized, but 400 West would be temporarily closed from 300 South to 400 South, as would a portion of 300 South in the area, Carly Gillespie, director of Urban Food Connections of Utah, the organization that helps run the market, told KSL. Some open parts of the park would also be utilized.
The market returns to the area on June 6.
"Our hope is that by then everything will be seamless and, as patrons show up to the market ... it's a seamless operation," she said.
The event attracts more than 10,000 people every weekend, making it the state's largest farmers' market. Traffic from the weekly event accounts for approximately 60% of park visitations every year, per data collected by the Salt Lake City Downtown Alliance.
Event organizers have met with vendors over the past three years, preparing for whenever the park project would begin. They're still working to select this year's businesses before publishing a map of where everyone sets up this year.
The market's regular vendors have been planning for the potential impact of the changes, too.
"I think it will be a little bit confusing at the beginning," said Ana Valdemoros, founder of Argentina's Best Empanadas, adding that many people may be caught offguard when the first market begins this summer. "I think once they understand (the layout), it will be easy."
She expects businesses will have to alert regular customers to a new location on the vendor map once it's released.
However, Valdemoros, also a former Salt Lake City councilwoman who represented downtown, understands the need for the construction. She helped champion the Pioneer Park project during her term in office, when it received a large chunk of a sales tax bond the City Council passed in 2022.
Another change for Pioneer Park
Salt Lake City ceremonially broke ground on its Pioneer Park project on Friday, ahead of most of the work that will begin in March. The project is expected to carry out throughout the summer — including the farmers market season — before wrapping up toward the end of the year.
The project calls for a new pavilion, restrooms and ranger office building, as well as a new playground, promenade and a mist fountain plaza. It also includes six pickleball courts, a new basketball court and an improved dog park that will be located within an expanded tree canopy and other new landscaping. A new art piece, selected last year, will also be installed.
It figures to be the next adjustment to a block that has seen a lot of change over the past 179 years.
Pioneer Park originated as a fort, set up by pioneer settlers. It was home to the city's first school, first election and even general conference that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints held in the valley. It once held cabins and fort walls in past lives, as well as gardens, orchards, farmhouses, circuses, swimming pools, baseball fields and a locomotive display.
Today, its main feature is the Downtown Farmers Market, while many of its other amenities are outdated or rarely used. Crime, homelessness and other issues have plagued the park in recent years, which is what the city hopes to overturn as it gives Pioneer Park an upgrade.
"All of those changes are intended to make this park more family-friendly every single day of the year, not just on weekends and not just when the farmers market is here," said Salt Lake City Mayor Erin Mendenhall. "Pioneer Park's story is long ... but I also believe its future is bright."
Tyrese Boone, KSLFees that developers pay for every new project in the city that go toward public benefits, like parks, and other sources, also went toward paying for the $18.4 million project, after planning officially began in 2019.
The park might be home to a year-round farmers market venue one day, too. Gillespie said there have been few updates to the concept unveiled last year.
Valdemoros believes the project will help turn the park into a destination beyond the market. The new amenities could make the area more desirable for the growing downtown, which may help reduce crime and other complaints once the project is complete.
While it might impact the market business this summer, she believes all the changes will be worth it in the long run.
"I think it's going to bring in way more people. ... The more positive activity, the less people are inclined to commit crimes," she said. "I think that's going to happen. We've seen this in other parks in (other cities). ... I'm very hopeful, and I think this is what we needed."
