HARRISBURG, Pa. — Rebuilding the Broad Street Market and keeping vendors in business is a top priority for the City of Harrisburg.
“Harrisburg is a food desert and you have so many people in that area of the Broad Street Market, especially three elderly high-rises in the vicinity of the market, that rely on the market for their food," said Matthew Maisel, the city's director of communications.
On Tuesday, the city gave an update on plans to rebuild the historic market's brick building, which was severely damaged in a July 10 fire.
The city is also working towards constructing a temporary tent-like building on the empty grass lot across from the market at Third and Verbeke Streets, giving the more than 20 vendors displaced by the fire a place to do business in the meantime.
“There will be flooring, it will be sided, it will be air-conditioned and heated depending on the season, running water, electrical, different things like that," explained Daniel Hartman, the city's business administrator.
“You are picking up and moving literally across the street so people who have bought food at the market in that area don’t have to go anywhere else, it’s a place people are familiar with," added Maisel.
Meanwhile, the city is still working with insurance companies to determine the exact loss from the fire – and figure out what the rebuild process will look like.
“There are going to be a great amount of limitations with what we can and can’t do with it because it is a national historic site," said Hartman.
City leaders are vowing to work as quickly as they can, with the help of county and state resources.
Hartman says it is possible the brick building could reopen in phases to speed up the process.
“You look at the western side of the brick building, it’s primarily water damage so could we potentially go in there and do work over a few months, create a barrier and get that side open," he said. "There’s a potential for that.”
The city hopes to have the temporary building at Third and Verbeke up and running within the next three weeks.
Until then, vendors will continue to set up outside the market as they did this past weekend.
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