What will the farmers market look like this year at Pioneer Park?

Pioneer Park, home of the infamous downtown farmers market since its inception 35 years ago, is under construction, with plans for the project to last through October of 2026. It will plow on even during peak farmers market season.

The market is essential for that park, stakeholders say.

“Sixty percent of Pioneer Park visits happen in the 21 days we operate,” said Carly Gillespie, the Downtown Alliance Director, the organization that puts on the farmers market. “I think the market district that's popped up around the park is only due to the market being in Pioneer Park and building a desirable neighborhood… Caputo’s and Carlucci’s, the residential that’s popped up around, wouldn't be there if the market hadn't been the first in the neighborhood. I think we're a really beloved community event that connects neighbors with each other, with where their food comes from, with their food producers.”

“This market is super important in my book,” said Punk Rock Farmer Al, the KRCL radio personality on Friday evenings talking all things local agriculture. “Starting with 10 veggie vendors in the early ‘90s, I’m super lucky to have the legacy spot with so many other veggie and fruit vendors every week for five full months of the summer.” 

“It’s literally one of the biggest markets in the nation,” said Kevin Nash of Earth First Eco Farm, a vendor at the market for the past 16 years. “The market is really the only thing that has activated that space.”

Thousands peruse the park every Saturday, getting their weekly vegetable haul or finding a trinket they know would be perfect for their home from the over 320 vendors that purvey at the market for 18 weekends a summer.   

“We have 16 counties across Utah represented at the market. Sixty-five percent women owned businesses. Twenty-five percent minority owned. We offer a low barrier to entry platform for people who are normally left out of the entrepreneurial world,” Gillespie said.

“It is a huge economic engine for hundreds of businesses,” said Tyler Montague of Keep It Real Vegetables, a farm vendor at the market for going on two decades.

Nash said the market is 60% of his income. “We work 10 months out of the year but we only make money consistently four or five months of the year.”

It is small businesses like farmers, the craft vendors and local restaurants that make the downtown farmers market special. The market has incubated small businesses that now are taking off on grocery shelves and getting their own brick and mortars.

“I see our legacy in businesses around the community that have launched at our farmers market, like Bagel Project, Sweet Lake Limemade and Biscuits, Eats Bakery, Rico brand,” Gillespie said.

But with Pioneer Park under full construction, what will the market look like for farmers and vendors who rely on this as their primary form of income for the entire year? What should patrons visiting the market expect when arriving on Saturday mornings?

The pending unknown, talks of smaller vending spaces and potential for convoluted flow of the market leaves farmers and vendors feeling concerned about how changes to their main marketplace will affect business this year.

“There will be growing pains,” Gillespie said, “but we’re excited to launch the market and have another successful season and we hope the community comes out and not only supports the market, but also our vendors from across the state of Utah.”

Why the project?

Pioneer Park was initially established in 1847 as a fort for the first pioneers. Eventually it was home to the city’s first school, first election, Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints general conference with orchards and gardens, farmhouses and circuses, swimming pools, baseball fields and locomotive displays.

“Pioneer Park is the only green space in the downtown core and the population of downtown is growing exponentially,” Gillespie said. “A functional green space is really important to the downtown community and everyone who’s coming downtown.”

The Public Lands Needs Assessment found that the Downtown and Central City planning areas have the fastest rate of population growth with the lowest level of park service per resident.

Recent census numbers show that Council District 4 – Central City, Downtown, East Central, Central 9th – added far more residents than any other district in the city, growing from 26,716 residents in 2010 to 33,153 residents in 2020. The Downtown neighborhood has a deficit of 17.5 acres of park land and is increasing.

With new development and growing population, these planning areas are significantly contributing to the impact fees which are utilized for parks and public lands. According to the City’s current Impact Fee Facilities Plan, each unit that becomes available in these areas contributes $2,875 in impact fees to be used by Public Lands, with an increase in this dollar amount proposed for both single-family and multi-family units. In March 2021, according to City records, over 1,016 units were projected for development in the downtown community, resulting in over $2,921,000 in impact fees for future development.

But as time has passed, the green space only activates during the Saturday markets, otherwise seeing, according to city officials, activity at the park making the space feel unwelcoming and not family friendly. The project is looking to bolster safety, accessibility and year-round use while replacing outdated park infrastructure.

“We started the farmer's market 35 years ago in Pioneer Park because it had a bad reputation of nefarious activity, drug dealing, prostitution, unsheltered people, that it's unsafe for families and folks to be,” Gillespie said.

“The farmer’s market has transformed the atmosphere of the park on summer Saturdays for decades,” said Janna Cunningham, the communications manager for Salt Lake Department of Public Lands. “The rest of the week, however, the park still lacked activation or amenities for downtown residents, and the community was dissatisfied with the park.” 

What is the project?

The Salt Lake City Department of Public Land’s project entails a new pavilion, co-located restrooms, a rangers office building, an accessible playground, a promenade, a mist fountain plaza, pickleball courts, basketball courts, a dog park, an expanded tree canopy with new landscaping and a new public art piece titled “Common Roots” by California-based artists James Shen and Jennifer Tran, commissioned by the Salt Lake City Arts Council Public Art Program. 

“As the only community sized downtown park, there have been several efforts to improve the park in the last 20 years…Improvements underway now build on earlier phases to fulfill the full park vision,” Cunningham said. “New improvements will complement the perimeter pathway constructed in 2006, and the central multiuse field constructed in 2018, to add desired recreation amenities for the downtown community. The Rangers will have a consistent presence at the park during daytime hours and will be responsible for patrolling, some maintenance of the park, educating about park rules, engaging with unhoused residents and providing information about available services. Additionally, SLPD has created the Parks Green Team Squad to enhance safety and stewardship in public spaces.”

“They're putting in a new playground, which, as someone with children, I will say we definitely need at that park,” Gillespie said. “They're improving a new and improved dog park. They're changing some of the electrical and putting in restrooms, which had been removed from the park, and as we all know, everyone needs the restrooms. They will be putting in a little plaza for food trucks. We hope this activates the park on days other than Saturdays.”

Funding for the project as whole will be a combination of impact fees and voter supported bond investments. According to Cunningham, “In 2019, Salt Lake City Council approved $3.44 million in impact fee funding for Pioneer Park and in 2021, a community supported Pioneer Park Vision Plan was developed. In 2022, council approved the Vision Plan and an additional $10 million from a $67.5 million Sales Tax Bond. In 2024 the council approved an additional $4.96 million so that both Phase 1 and Phase 2 of the Vision Plan could be substantially implemented.”

Funding for the art installation specifically comes from the city’s Public Art Program, where 1.5% of all eligible city project funds go toward creating and maintaining public art displays. “Common Roots” was chosen by the Salt Lake Art Design Board which reviewed submissions from over 130 artists nationwide.

“The community engagement process started back in 2021, and we've been having conversations with Public Lands since probably 2023 about this construction starting,” Gillespie said.

The city hired a planning and design consultant to create a vision plan for the park. In early 2021, the planning team began with a thorough review and analysis of past process outcomes and feedback, then incorporated data about the changes in demographics, housing and other information about the area within a 15-minute walk of Pioneer Park. Stakeholder engagement started in April of 2021.

The project is pursuing a Sustainable SITES Certification, one that will reduce water demand, filter and reduce stormwater runoff, enhance biodiversity, provide pollinator and wildlife habitat, reduce energy consumption, improve air quality, improve human health and increase outdoor recreation.

Farmers, often offline and busy in the fields, did not get the memo on the collaboration however. 

“I wish that before they decide to do these top down things that they would seek input from the people whose livelihoods they will be affecting before they just do something,” Montague said. “It would be nice if they consulted with the businesses and the public about what the community wants versus what they think the community wants.”

How will the market will look?

“There will be three quarters of the park more or less under construction for the entire season of the market and will be unusable for us,” Gillespie said. “The majority of the construction is on 300 South, so the north side of the park, facing Caputo’s and Carlucci’s. The majority of our farmers and food producers have historically been on the north end of the park, so all of those vendors will be displaced.” 

The market organizers will be pocking vendors throughout the site, 400 West from 400 South to 300 South will be closed as well as eastbound traffic on 300 South during the market to accommodate the vendor spaces.   

“We will have vendors in the street to maintain the size of the market and the number of vendors that we’ve had,” Gillespie said. “We’re looking at about 70 to 80 vendors that will need to find new spaces inside of the park. Which I feel confident we can do, we’ll just have to get creative and make some changes.”

Vendors with perishable items will be given priority in shady zones of the park. Neighboring parking lots will be used for vendors who do not need their cars or trailers on site during the market operating hours, alleviating some space. Vendors assigned to spaces in the park’s interior will not be able to park behind their tents any longer.

300 South will be closed off during market hours, where patrons will be walking down the center on the east bound side of the street with 70 to 90 vendors on both sides. You’ll wrap onto 400 West where most of the prepared hot food will be concentrated in a double sided line of vendors. Once reaching 400 South, patrons will reenter the park, 400 South and 300 West are off-limits because of street size, but 300 West will have one side of vendors lining the park.

“It’s really difficult to say what the exact market layout will be,” Gillespie said. “But our intention is to keep that flow of the perimeter of the park, and then, if necessary, have some vendors on the interior sidewalks. You can’t have tents on the lawn for ADA accessibility, you want the front of the tent to be up to a sidewalk or walking path.” 

Project logistics

The project has put a heavier load to bear on the organizers of this beloved community event. From permitting to staffing to preseason planning, the construction at Pioneer Park has made the operations of this year's market more expensive and logistically difficult.

“There's a million factors into the placement of every vendor,” Gillespie said. “We're looking at vendor market curation, we're looking at their personal needs, the size of their vehicles, their accessibility issues, their needs for power, water. We’re looking at the spacing of the trees, the height of the branches. All of that kind of stuff is considered in the placement of where each person goes.”

And with each piece of the permitting process, a different department is needed for approval, Gillespie said. Permits from Salt Lake City Transportation, Salt Lake City Fire and Public Lands are underway.

“Any kind of operational changes add additional expenses,” Gillespie said. “Street closures aren't cheap, a company that handles those street closures can be $25,000 in a season. There's also additional staffing required for each street closure. Every intersection that is closed, requires a person to stand there in case of emergency to move a barricade for emergency responders to get through. We're losing our access to power, so we will either need to purchase or rent generators, and that will likely be tens of thousands of dollars as well.”

All said and done, Gillespie foresees these operational costs to increase 25 to 50% this year, coming out to about a half million dollars in expenses just to run the market. 

“No matter what,” Gillespie said, “we will maintain the size of the market and keep those 320 vendors in spots, it just will look different. Preserving as many vendors as we possibly can is our top priority, even though this will be a significantly more expensive year for us as an organization.”

Reserve funds, grants and sponsorships have allowed for the organizers to keep the additional operational burden costs off the vendors.

Concerns of the project

But why not move the market to another location for this year?

“It's an incredibly heavy lift to move a market of our size and to reconfigure the vendors and our operations as well as educating the public on the move,” Gillespie said. “To move it for one season would be incredibly difficult and could take us years to recover from. So, although we are not thrilled about being in the street, I think it will work for this year, and we will return, hopefully, to the park in 2027. But that layout will be different as well because of the changes being made.”

With all intents and purposes looking to benefit the community with this project, concerns from vendors arise about their ability to operate to the fullest potential amongst the construction.

“I am most concerned that there’s not going to be enough space for the vendors to bring what they need to bring to make it worth it,” Montague said. “To be able to stage our products with room for our vehicles and infrastructure…” 

“The name of the game as a farmer is, ‘How much can I bring to market?’ If I can bring an entire truck load and sell it, I am going to do that,” Nash said. “But if I am only able to bring a quarter of that, then I wonder, is it worth it? Or should I find another place where I can fit everything that I need to bring?”

“The way they’re redesigning the park is going to make it permanently less conducive to a market because of all the landscaping they’re doing,” Montague said.

Consolations to the project

The renovations ultimately aim to make the park more conducive to the community at large, bring people to the grounds beyond the Saturday beehive that is the farmers market, and activate the space to make it more palatable for the masses moving into the downtown corridor.

“I hope this project increases visitation at Pioneer Park. It is our home. We've been there for 35 years. It's a park that we love as the market and as the Downtown Alliance. Getting people more comfortable being there year-round rather than just on Saturdays. So anything that helps the park become more comfortable and more user friendly helps us keep people at the market.

“There will be a little discomfort with the construction,” Punk Rock Farmer Al said, “but it will all be worth it.”

The downtown farmers market will resume its summer operations on June 6.