Proposed year-round city market gets $30,000 commitment from City Council

The City Council last night agreed to dedicate $30,000 in hotel-motel tax revenue in the fiscal year beginning next July to the proposed year-round Cedar Rapids City Market.

Sarah Ordover, board president of the proposed market, said the board's plan is to raise $120,000 by the end of the year to complete the market's feasibility study and to secure a site for the market. Both downtown and New Bohemia remain possible locations for the venue, she told the council.

Fundraising will take place in 2010 for money to build the market and help cover operating costs for two years. By the third year, the market should be self-sustaining, Ordover explained. The plan is to have 80 stalls in the market for vendors.

Ordover said the market will be a “healthy destination,” an incubator for small businesses and “catalyst” for economic development. Ben Rogers, Linn County supervisor and a member of the market's board, said the market would deliver one of the “quality-of-life amenities” that community leaders continually talk about.