WEST LOOP — Amid aldermanic objections, a West Loop farmers market set to open Saturday will most likely be delayed, according to the Lincoln Park-based group in charge of coordinating the chef-driven market.
Green City Market was scheduled to debut its chef-driven farmers market Saturday at a privately owned parking lot at Halsted Street and Fulton Market. But Mark Psilos, Green City's associate director, said the market will most likely be delayed while the group irons out last-minute details.
"It's not looking incredibly promising right now," Psilos said. "We're working on getting it open as soon as possible."
On Friday, Ald. Walter Burnett Jr. (27th) said he had reservations about Green City's plans for the market — the group's lease on the proposed location expires in October — and Burnett said he also had concerns about high levels of traffic at Halsted Street and Fulton Market.
The alderman said he'd rather see the market go up at Randolph Street and Racine Avenue — a CTA-owned parking lot being pushed by the Randolph/Fulton Market Association, a West Loop neighborhood group.
Psilos said he was unaware Burnett had an issue with Green City's proposed site.
The city's Department of Planning and Development said a farmers market at that CTA parking lot has not been ruled out.
"We’ll continue to consider that site, along with other potential sites, as a possible solution for a more permanent location for the market," said Peter Strazzabosco, the department's deputy commissioner.
CTA spokesman Brian Steele said the lot is available around the clock to CTA employees who work at an office across the street. Steele could not confirm Friday whether the lot would be available for a Saturday market.
The recent push for a West Loop farmers market came out of the "key actions" of the Fulton/Randolph District plan — a land-use initiative that involves preserving historic West Loop buildings and setting design guidelines for the area. That same plan directly recommended Green City Market as a "potential steward" for the market.
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