Olathe officials are pushing for a plan to build a permanent farmers market at the site of the post office downtown. But timing for the project, which the city folded into its overarching plan to revitalize the area, hinges on the post office’s eventual relocation elsewhere.
The Olathe Chamber of Commerce confirmed the city’s plans for the future farmers market site in an email newsletter last week. The chamber also reported that a developer will be announced soon.
City leaders have said the site of the post office at the northeast corner of Chestnut and Park streets is ripe for redevelopment, particularly as it focuses on greater revitalization efforts in the area. At his State of the City address in October, Mayor John Bacon called the post office site “a prime space for redevelopment” and said the city hoped a permanent farmers market would land there.
Earlier this year, the city quietly put out a request for proposals for a developer to transform downtown Olathe. The request stated that proposals must include a plan for the farmers market at the site of the post office. The request also suggested that a nearby city-owned parking lot, Sculpture Park and the former Warren Hannon building (now owned by the city) could also be replaced with redevelopment.
Problems with post office relocation
That said, the farmers market can only move forward after the post office is relocated.
The city has been working with USPS on relocating the building, but the progress has been slow. The relocation came to a halt after the Trump administration took office earlier this year amid shifting priorities and uncertainty about federal grant funding across the country.
In March, Republican Sens. Jerry Moran and Roger Marshall of Kansas and Democratic Rep. Sharice Davids of the Third Congressional District of Kansas wrote a joint letter to former USPS Postmaster General Louis DeJoy asking him to prioritize relocating the office.
The request states that the new post office is planned for a site near Old 56 Highway and Harrison Street. In an online Q&A platform tied to the February request, the city also said the plan is to move the post office to that site, which is where the Olathe Public Safety Campus is located.
What we know about an Olathe farmers market space
The city hasn’t announced any concrete plans for the specifics of the market and hasn’t hired a developer, but the request stated the proposal must include a facility for a farmers market.
Here are a few early details outlined in the request:
- The market will operate Wednesday evenings and Saturday mornings from mid-April through November
- It will ideally have space for 50 vendors
Olathe currently runs two seasonal farmers markets — one downtown at 219 W. Loula St., and another at Black Bob Park. Both open at the end of April, but the existing downtown market closes for the year at the end of October. The Black Bob Park market shuts down at the end of September.
The city told the Post that no definitive decisions about the future of the existing markets after the downtown site is built has been made.
What the farmers market could look like
What exactly the new farmers market and any surrounding redevelopment might look like is unclear. However, in the Q&A, the city told prospective parties to look to cities like Overland Park and Lenexa for inspiration.
In downtown Overland Park, that city is currently redoing its own farmers market space. The $34 million project — called Clock Tower Landing — will see the construction of an enclosed pavilion and other improvements to the surrounding plaza.
As for the Lenexa Farmers Market, it operates at the city’s civic center campus at Lenexa City Center. The vendors set up on the ground level of the public parking garage and in the open space between the Lenexa Rec Center and city hall, just up the stairs from the Lenexa Public Market.
The Merriam Farmers’ Market is located at the Merriam Marketplace, a covered, open-air pavilion. It has a capacity for 36 vendors — smaller than what Olathe has laid out in its plan. It also hosts concerts, festivals and community events.
