After 52 years, Red Deer’s Public Market is reluctantly leaving the downtown.
According to operator Patrick Moffat, all potential spots at the city’s core — including Capstone and Canada 150 square — were explored and all came up short, with insufficient space for vendors trucks and booths as well as customer parking.
When the popular market re-opens on the May long weekend, it will therefore be located within city limits, but not in the downtown, he confirmed.
The choices “have dwindled down to two sites now,” added Moffat, who doesn’t want to give details until a deal is signed.
He expects a final decision to be announced in early April.
Although he remains positive — especially about one of the sites under consideration — he’s still disappointed that city council did not renew his lease for the market’s usual location in the parking lot front of Servus Arena and the Pidherney Centre, home of the Red Deer Curling Club.
The curling club had successfully petitioned city council to make the market move away from its doorstep so it could market its facility for conventions and weddings.
Moffat admitted he expected more support from city council, as well as the Red Deer Chamber of Commerce and the Downtown Business Association, for a market that’s become a popular community gathering space for over half a century.
He noted the parking lot in front of the Servus Arena was specifically redeveloped with the market’s needs in mind in 2010. “The whole area was built around the idea of a market…”
“But the way I look at it, we’re in a new world now,” he added, “and we can’t be afraid to embrace change.”
Although many Red Deerians, especially seniors, will be disappointed that the outdoor public market is no longer in a walkable, central location, Moffat hopes public transportation options will be arranged for people who don’t drive.
As Red Deer city council vowed to work to ensure the market is successful in another spot, he believes busing should be considered.
Many members of city council had been confident the market could be accommodated elsewhere in the downtown. On Thursday, Mayor Ken Johnston declined to comment on this, saying the process of finding a market site is still underway.
The Downtown Business Association’s executive-director Amanda Gould said she was surprised to hear Moffat feels he didn’t get enough support from the DBA. “I met with him twice and said I will do whatever I can to keep the market downtown…. I’m very sorry it won’t be downtown.”
lmichelin@reddeeradvocate.com
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