Rochester officials revamp town square project

The city plans to add 2,000 square feet of space to the already 5,000-square-foot building, which will include a year-round market and event space, restrooms, a small market office, storage, outdoor seating, and a covered stage area for entertainment and public display.

ROCHESTER — Downtown Rochester will soon have a new, elevated farmers market that officials are calling Market + The Graham.

After the first iteration of a reimagined version of the city’s farmers market — dubbed “The Front Porch” — was interrupted by the pandemic, Downtown Development Authority Chairman Ben Giovanelli said, the project was put on the back burner.

“The original version of this project was scuttled due to COVID,” he said. “We re-booted it and started to go down a path and realized it was going to be twice as much as we thought it was going to be, so we hit the brakes — that was toward the tail end of the year last year. Planned funding from state and federal sources didn’t come through, so we decided to wait and come back and revisit it.”

The project was put back on the table in February, right around when the former Animal Emergency Center at 265 E. Second St. — adjacent to the current farmers market lot — was listed for sale.

Giovanelli confirmed that the DDA is currently in negotiations to purchase the property with the intent of renovating the building into a year-round farmers market and event space.

The project, he explained, comes with a bigger and more robust footprint, costs half of what the first iteration was shaping up to be, pays historical homage to Oakland County’s first settlers, and provides year-round space for community engagement.

The Graham — the proposed name for the building — is a tribute to the first settlers of Rochester, the James Graham family, who settled in the city in 1817. City officials said The Graham will celebrate Rochester’s rich farming history through a display of photos, artifacts and implements inside the revamped animal hospital, which will be used for a year-round farmers market and event space.

“Calling the building The Graham is because we want to celebrate our rich farming history, that history about always wanting to be first, wanting to be an innovator, wanting to be an inventor,” DDA Executive Director Kristi Trevarrow said. “Everyone seems really excited about that opportunity, and we are really looking forward to digging into that as the coming weeks and months go on.”

Steve Auger, of Auger Klein Aller Architects, said the proposed design would add 2,000 square feet of space to the already 5,000 square foot building for restrooms, a small market office, storage and a covered stage area for entertainment and public display.

“We look at this building, this events center, as a support system for this very popular program that all of us enjoy, and what kind of amenities we could add to that program,” he said.

The main portion of the building would be used for the market and other events, with overhead doors that can open or close to make it an outdoor and indoor space.

The building, Trevarrow explained, would allow the DDA to host a year round farmers market, bring back its holiday market, and offer a flexible event space with additional seating, shaded areas and public restrooms.

“This will give us the opportunity to have a big wide open space that the community can tell us what they want to see there and the opportunities that space presents for us, which is amazing,” Trevarrow said.

The project — which is currently working on city approvals — is set to begin this summer, with completion expected by summer 2025. Trevarrow said the total estimated cost for the project is around $3.7 million. The city is expected to receive over $900,000 in American Rescue Plan Act funding from Oakland County for the project.

Rochester Mayor Stuart Bikson said he’s very excited about the move to expand and improve the existing farmers market, as well as create a space for the community to gather.

“This project will continue to improve our wonderful downtown and make Rochester a destination spot for our region,” he said in a statement.

Mayor Pro Tem Nancy Salvia also voiced her support.

“I’ve kind of floated the concept to residents and have heard just great feedback from everyone. Everyone is super excited about this,” she said. “The numbers look great, the concept is improved and it’s a better win for the community.”

“I think we’ve arrived at something that everybody likes,” added Giovanelli.

To learn more about the Market + The Graham project, visit downtownrochestermi.com or call the Rochester DDA at (248) 656-0060.