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Careful what you wish for . . . 
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My suggestion would be to build a âtower/structureâ at Dix and one at DTRS
Down Town Raleigh South (Kanâs newest project) and see the views of DTRâŚ
Kind of like the Gondolas/SkyTrams of Raleigh at the NC State Fair?
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Shape the gondolas like acorns!!!
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Zipline from the deck to Dix?
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I donât believe the current NC Farmerâs Market does a good job of showcasing North Carolina ag-business/ag-food crafts. Eventually the NC Farmerâs Market will have to be revamped and this revamp could be a fantastic opportunity to be a main tourist attraction for the region like Pike Place Market in Seattleâmaybe with a little more class.
I would suggest remodeling itâs very utilitarian design for something visually appealing. Plus add temperature controlled underground cellars where farmers and food craft folks can rent space in.
Right now thereâs a lot of very, very small farms that make fresh goatâs cheese in North Carolina. Thatâs great but people often have to travel directly to the farm to purchase the goat cheese or hope they have a stand at a local farmerâs market near you. So we the consumers donât have a reliable place to try NC cheeses (and other cellar products).
Also, many of these farmers canât afford to have their own carefully controlled cheese caves (cellars) meaning their ability to craft amazing aged cheeses is severely limited. In fact, when it comes to goat cheese, fresh goat cheese is about all you can find in NC even though thereâs hundreds of types of goat cheeses made in the world.
North Carolina Department of Agriculture is not realizing the potential ag-business something like this could generate.
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I didnât think about that until now, but Iâm totally with you.
Iâve often seen older adults complain about how gen Z and younger millenials donât know how plants are grown (let alone why itâs important to appreciate the ag industry). Maybe making it look attractive through a revamped market would help change that?
Maybe more like Tokyoâs Toyosu fish markets (where Tsukiji moved to) like in the Netflix movie Jiro Dreams of Sushi, then? You could have spaces for both ag-business, food prep, food halls, AND even tourism, all under one roof.
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They have the perfect location now right next to Dix. Spruce it up a bit. Add some restaurant space. The could farm to table type stuff with all ingredients sourced from the farmers market.
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Iâm not familiar with the specifics, but I believe the farmers market is either in process or about to start developing a new master plan. I have seen it mentioned in regard to coordinating with the Dix master plan.
Iâm not sure who you contact with input, but I like the cellar/cheese idea. The Farmerâs Market is already very nice, but could be even better!
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Thatâs correct. I went on a tour of that edge of Dix and the Farmerâs market director gave a talk about their future plans. Theyâve been looking at how to synergize that edge and take advantage of the new prominence that will come with the development of Lake Wheeler Road and the Southern Gateway.
Sometimes the simplest ideas are the best, like adding an entry to the park from the farmerâs market, and encouraging park users to park at the farmerâs market and stop and buy food either before or after their time at Dix.
Theyâre also working with NCSU on their shared border. There are some exciting ideas floating around at the Farmerâs Market.
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Are there any more details we can find about this, online? Or can we only hear and see this for ourselves from Farmerâs Market employees, in person?
The feeling I got from the talk was that the Farmerâs Market is a state facility and that it serves a much greater regional purpose for shipping and distribution. It seemed like the FM master planning was overdue and that they put it on hold for the Dix master planning. There is clearly a great concern for security and not interrupting commercial traffic, and theyâre wary of people migrating from the park into the shipping and distribution areas.
Since theyâre a state property they donât really have to go through the typical processes for a local development. I donât think theyâve published anything, but they did meet with MVVA and the City to work out the shared borders, explore cross access, shared parking, entrance towards Dix, etc. Just having one of the Dix tours start with the FM and having them talk to the workgroups was a pretty good indication that theyâre willing to work together.
I think the FM could certainly do more than what they talked about, but itâs first and foremost about serving ag functions for points east and they donât want to compromise that. Maybe the distribution center will move someday. The local food market could be expanded to the whole site with more restaurants, educational functions, a tractor museum, etc., but thatâs a long, long way off in the future.
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Gotcha, glad to hear that the farmerâs market people are at least willing and open to working together with Raleigh, Dix Park etc. Now to hope they start speeding things up, now that the Dix Master Plan is completeâŚ
That makes total sense. Itâs also why I brought up the Tsukiji/Toyosu example earlier. The Tokyo fish market is also primarily for fishermen/distributors but has a solid tourism side gig, too, and I think they balance both of those needs pretty well. Since Pike Place (as @Francisco suggested) is a bit more tourist-centric while daily markets in European city centers are more buyer-focused, Tokyoâs example might be one of the more relevant ones for us.
If anything, this sounds more like a niche that the new food halls in DTR proper could fill, instead?
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The current problem I see with the two existing food halls is that people are generally not interested in non-prepared food products/produce. Farmerâs market should primarily be a place to buy produce and foodstuff with some restaurant/prepared services sprouting from it. Wholesale is important of courseâthe current layout just needs to optimized and modernize so that it works for all people. Business, wholesalers, restaurants, and the general public. Separate entrances for business/truck/wholesale business and the general public.
Trust me if someone gave me a concept artist I could draw you up the most fantastic farmerâs mecca.
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âŚand how about the actual location? Where you expected them to be?
From an outsider/general view - yes. Easy of pick up for the truck, wide area for the gutter to run free, doesnât infringe on the sidewalks and it will never be blocked by parked cars. That specific block - I couldnât say.
Are you familiar with Findley Market in Cincy or Eastern Market in DC? Are these similar to what youâre thinking?
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I remember that a few months back that the music festival Dreamville took place in Dorothea Dix and that would help bring in more people as several of those who went were from different countries and half of all attendees were from out of state. This would help the economy of the area if each year this festival took place!
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Was just in Cinch and Findlay is beautiful