Downtown farmers market prepares for May move to temporary location two blocks away

The farmers market in downtown Santa Cruz is preparing for a big move.

This May, the weekly collection of farms, artists and food stalls will leave the parking lot along Cedar Street between Cathcart and Lincoln streets – its home, in some iteration, for more than 30 years – for a new spot just two blocks away. 

The new site will be along Cedar Street between Walnut Avenue and Church Street and continue half a block up Church Street along the Cruzio building, stopping before it reaches Prophet Elias Greek Orthodox Church. The market will also take over the parking lot next to the downtown Santa Cruz Public Libraries branch, known as Lot 16. The street will be closed on Wednesday afternoons while the market is going on, and earlier in the day while the vendors set up. 

The last day of the downtown market at the current Lot 4 location and first day at the new location will be announced later this spring and take place in mid- to late May. The date depends on when the city finalizes some of the funding for the housing component of the mixed-use library project, according to Bonnie Lipscomb, director of economic development for the city. Additionally, Nesh Dhillon, executive director of Santa Cruz Community Farmers’ Markets, the nonprofit organization that manages the downtown market and four others, said he’d prefer to move once farmers start bringing seasonal stone fruit, which also happens in May, in order to give visitors a “full experience” at the new location. 

Dhillon noted that the new market will be close to two parking garages for market visitors who need to drive downtown. The market plans to continue its bike valet parking, and may collaborate with nonprofit Ecology Action – whose offices are adjacent to the new site – to offer incentives for those who bike to the farmers market. 

The move comes as the downtown mixed-use library project prepares to break ground on Lot 4 in June, forcing the market to move elsewhere while construction gets underway. 

But the street closure on Cedar and Church streets is just a temporary location, probably for at least two to three years, until the city and the market establish a permanent home for the Wednesday market within the downtown area.

One option that they aim to flesh out more in the coming months is the possibility of renovating the 59,000-square-foot site of the current downtown library and the adjacent parking lots, including Lot 16, into a mixed-used space that would house the farmers market as well as other public facilities and housing. The idea was first proposed in 2021, and became more tangible once Measure O, which sought to block the mixed-use library project from being built, was defeated at the polls in 2022. 

While still in the conceptual stage, Dhillon envisions a community hub that is active seven days a week, not just a few hours once a week for the farmers market. A wish list of possibilities includes permanent infrastructure for the market such as food stalls, a commercial kitchen, restrooms and cold storage for locally grown produce, as well as an outdoor event space and housing. The site could be used by other entities as well, like the Downtown Antique Faire, which also sets up on Lot 4 and Lincoln Street between Cedar Street and Pacific Avenue on the second Sunday of every month. 

The city and the farmers market have been working together to find a permanent home for the farmers market for nearly 10 years, with features like bathrooms and shade structures that would support the market and the community experience. In 2022, the city and the market signed an agreement to explore several downtown locations, with the city promising $1.775 million to help make the vision into a reality. 

In addition to the current library site, the parking lot that runs along Front Street between Soquel Avenue and Cathcart Street – known as Lot 7 – was also presented as an option to the market. 

The current library site has several features that make it more attractive for a farmers market, including its proximity to Santa Cruz City Hall and the Santa Cruz Civic Auditorium. And, unlike Lot 7, which would be a parking lot on the off-days, the library location would serve as a public space. “That’s where the idea of a public market started to germinate,” said Dhillon. “What if we could reconfigure this block into a public-use space which would be a place for the farmers market to have a permanent location, create a robust agriculture and food location, and a gathering place in the community?”

The city fully supports the idea. “I think it’s a great vision,” said Lipscomb. She’s aiming to present the idea to city council on March 25 and get permission to explore the project. 

Santa Cruzans could see new life in that area as soon as this spring or early summer. Lipscomb said the city would like to begin hosting events on Lot 16 – the parking lot next to the existing downtown library – as soon as May. “We may do something similar to Midtown Fridays,” said Lipscomb, referring to the free summer block parties hosted by Event Santa Cruz that take place on the lot at 1111 Soquel Ave. from May through October, with live music and a market with local artists and vendors. 

The city is discussing the possibility with Event Santa Cruz. The local company puts on free community events such as Midtown Fridays and Wharf Wednesdays in partnership with the city. “The goal is to provide new reasons for people to come downtown and create opportunities for people to gather,” said Lipscomb. “We’d really like to support the existing businesses downtown, and utilize some of the improvements that we’re going to be putting in to accommodate the farmers market.”

Ultimately, the market has the final decision on where it will move permanently, said Lipscomb. “There’s a couple of viable options out there. Relocating on an interim basis to Lot 16 and the street gives the market an opportunity to see how they like it at that location and what that potential is,” she said. “And it gives us – both for the city and the farmers market – time to really evaluate what’s the best fit for the future.”

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