Like the head of a household with spouse and three children who is saving every penny towards a racy two seater Porsche,instead of tending to the oil and spark plugs of his trusted but aging minivan, the City has neglected Lexington Market and accumulated money in favor of a fashionable glass box to replace the cavernous existing structures on both sides of Paca Street.
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| Demolition is the wrong answer (Current Eutaw Street facade) |
The strategy of declaring the current Market obsolete worth complete demolition instead of seeing it as a jewel to be cherished and kept in ship-shape is now hitting home. The SUN reports that sales dropped 50% after a video showing a rat gnawing on cake in a bakery display case was widely shared. (Lexington Market sees business plunge since rat video).
Just like the Porsche wouldn't accommodate the family, the envisioned modern new 97,000 sf market building wouldn't accommodate all current merchants and likely not serve the current clientele. (The current east and west markets plus arcade represent 178,500 sf.) $17 million have been socked away to date Market Executive Director Robert Thomas told me during a promotional event earlier this year, money that is urgently needed to upgrade the current market. The SUN quotes Council President Young's spokesman Lester Davis describing the effort to maintain the facility while planning for its replacement as “a tricky balance.”
