17th Street Farmers Market set to reopen

RICHMOND, VA (WWBT) - After a number of delays, the 17th Street Farmers Market is set to open on Nov. 30.

EnRichmond and the Richmond City Initiative have spent the last five years working to reopen the 17th Street Farmers Market.

The project has been through a number of delays. Landscape architect Stacey Farinholt feels relieved the project has reached the home stretch.

“The project has gone on the shelf a few times, but we’ve really persevered and its so exciting,” Farinholt said in October.

There will be a celebration on Friday starting at 5 p.m. with hot chocolate, live music and vendors. An ice skating rink will open this weekend.

Farinholt says one of their goals was to design a space where visitors can feel comfortable outside during the hot days of summer, so they planned to plant trees in the market to provide shade.

The only issue was city trees don’t tend to live out their lifespans.

Farinholt says, “So you get in this pattern of replacing without the tree growing big enough to give you the benefits that you intended for it to give.”

Farinholt decided to plant 22 oak trees using Silva Cell technology, which allows the root of the trees to grow under the ground without added pressure from traffic on the ground above. The process allows the trees to live a full life.

“Of the three species here, the shortest lifespan is normally 100 years,” added Farinholt. “These canopies will easily get above the roof line of all of these buildings.”

The market will also play a key part in preventing floods in Shockoe Bottom. There are drains outlining both sides of the market, allowing a flow of rain to be caught by multiple drains.

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