About Us
Detroit's Historic Eastern Market
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Staff Dan Carmody President Randall Fogelman Director, Special Projects Kimberly Hill Director, Outreach & Community Relations James Sutherland Director, Operations & Market Management John A. Jones, Sr. Operations Superintendent Jason Yelencich Facilities Manager Sharron Rose Director of Finance Michael Geiger Event Coordinator Doshia Barton Office Manager |
The Eastern Market Corporation is an “umbrella” organization formed following work by the Downtown
Detroit Partnership and City of Detroit with Eastern Market stakeholders to create a Reinvestment
Strategy for the Market and identify an approach for implementation of the Strategy. Working since,
March 2003, the group retained Project for Public Spaces as consultants and sponsored an Urban
Land Institute Advisory Services Panel for Eastern Market. Both groups strongly recommended the
formation of a governing entity to bring together the city, Market stakeholders, the Downtown Partnership
and foundation and corporate funders into a single entity to operate the Market, promote the district and
raise funds for improvements and economic development activities in the district. The Eastern Market
Corporation is that entity.
On June 20, 2006, the Detroit City Council authorized a Management and Promotion Agreement
between the City of Detroit and the Eastern Market Corporation wherein the EMC will operate the public
market and promote economic development in the one-mile Market District.
Work Plan:
The Eastern Market Corporation Work Plan calls for the following:
Eastern Market Corporation has formulated a series of seven initiatives. Implementing these initiatives
will improve the physical capacity of the market with new and improved vendor stalls in historic Shed 2.
More importantly, implementation will recreate the market as a comprehensive community food security
system for the currently underserved surrounding neighborhoods (115,000 residents within 3 miles).
The project will provide linkages between Eastern Market and those neighborhoods, as well as work in
concert with downtown and riverfront initiatives to provide a comprehensive Detroit destination
experience. Finally, the implementation of these initiatives will bolster the market’s economic viability
through entrepreneurial small business incubation and create an enhanced sense of community in the
market with increased activity and new educational opportunities.
Initiatives:
Detroit Partnership and City of Detroit with Eastern Market stakeholders to create a Reinvestment
Strategy for the Market and identify an approach for implementation of the Strategy. Working since,
March 2003, the group retained Project for Public Spaces as consultants and sponsored an Urban
Land Institute Advisory Services Panel for Eastern Market. Both groups strongly recommended the
formation of a governing entity to bring together the city, Market stakeholders, the Downtown Partnership
and foundation and corporate funders into a single entity to operate the Market, promote the district and
raise funds for improvements and economic development activities in the district. The Eastern Market
Corporation is that entity.
On June 20, 2006, the Detroit City Council authorized a Management and Promotion Agreement
between the City of Detroit and the Eastern Market Corporation wherein the EMC will operate the public
market and promote economic development in the one-mile Market District.
Work Plan:
The Eastern Market Corporation Work Plan calls for the following:
 | Renovation of Sheds 2, 3, and 5 for increased days of operation. | |
| Establishing the Market as Southeast Michigan’s food center. | |
| Establishing an education center and community outreach at Eastern Market | |
| Streetscape and public space improvements | |
| Support of existing businesses and attraction of new businesses and residential development | |
| to the Market district |
Eastern Market Corporation has formulated a series of seven initiatives. Implementing these initiatives
will improve the physical capacity of the market with new and improved vendor stalls in historic Shed 2.
More importantly, implementation will recreate the market as a comprehensive community food security
system for the currently underserved surrounding neighborhoods (115,000 residents within 3 miles).
The project will provide linkages between Eastern Market and those neighborhoods, as well as work in
concert with downtown and riverfront initiatives to provide a comprehensive Detroit destination
experience. Finally, the implementation of these initiatives will bolster the market’s economic viability
through entrepreneurial small business incubation and create an enhanced sense of community in the
market with increased activity and new educational opportunities.
Initiatives:
| Create a flexible-use market space that will integrate market sheds and the adjacent retail store | |
| frontage into a Market Square. This will increase the market’s days and hours of use, celebrate its historical character and allow market businesses to capitalize on event audiences. | ||
| Increase the metropolitan Detroit community’s accessibility to high quality farm-fresh produce, | |
| attract new seasonal growers, and re-establish the market as a premier center for fresh foods through the creation of improved fresh food vendor stalls in historic Shed 2. | ||
| Improve winterization and add refrigeration to the market’s Shed 3 to create a year-round and | |
| predictable destination for a healthy array of fresh and specialty foods. | ||
| Create a new resource to engage the community with food, farm, and nutrition-relation | |
| educational programs, add visitor amenities, and enhance the market as an attractive destination through the construction a new Market Services and Food Education Center. | ||
| Broaden the market’s strength in plants and flowers by adding retail greenhouse space to Shed | |
| 5 to foster year-round sales. | ||
| Encourage economically sustainable agriculture product, foster rural-urban educational | |
| partnerships and cultivate entrepreneurial opportunity for fresh food producers. | ||
| Invest in the infrastructure of the market to increase visibility, security, and access resulting in an | |
| improved identity, attractiveness and a people-friendly experience. |
©Copyright 2007, Eastern Market Corporation. All rights reserved.
| Administrative Office Hours: Mon - Sat 8am – 4 pm Farmers Market Hours: Saturdays 6 am - 5 pm 2934 Russell Street, Detroit, MI 48207 PH: 313.833.9300 ׀ FAX: 313.833.9309 |