Scott Announces $4.9M Investment For Lexington Market Redevelopment
BALTIMORE (WJZ) -- Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott on Wednesday announced Baltimore City will provide $4.9 million in American Rescue Plan Act funding to help complete the redevelopment of Lexington Market.
The Mayor's Office said the project and its vendors have faced COVID-related construction and labor price increases, but are on track to open this Fall. The ARPA investment is designed to address the cost increases and maintain minority vendor participation.
The new merchant mix at Lexington Market increases Black ownership from the current 5% to nearly 50% and increases female ownership to 50%. The mix is in line with the Mayor's priority pillar for Equitable Neighborhood Development.
"We want to redevelop and modernize Baltimore's iconic Lexington Market without leaving behind the minority businesses that made the old Lexington Market truly special," Scott said. "These funds are going directly to vendors to help us reach the finish line for opening this uniquely Baltimore destination this summer while ensuring that minority businesses are put at the center of our work to grow the downtown economy."
The Mayor's office said the allocation will also enable Faidley's Seafood, a Baltimore institution of nearly 150 years, to remain in Lexington Market. Last Summer, Faidley's told WJZ the business was hanging on by a thread after receiving little assistance during the pandemic.
Known as the longest continuously operating public market in the United States, the 240-year-old Lexington Market is undergoing a $40 million redevelopment and renovation by Baltimore-based developer Seawall.
The transformation calls for a new 61,000-square-foot market building to be constructed on the existing south parking lot and the demolition of the arcade building.
Once the project is complete, an open space will become a pedestrian plaza on Lexington Street. The market has remained open during construction, which started in February 2020.
