Models for success

Thomas said his organization doesn’t have the capacity to handle renovations and management on its own. He said funding will need to come from a mix of public and private sources, and private firms could also help manage the spaces.

Baltimore’s market organizations are breaking even, Thomas said, on revenues of about $5 million annually at Lexington Market and $3 million for the five markets of Baltimore Public Markets Corp. combined. Currently, Lexington Market receives $173,607 in grants from the city. The rest receive $138,885.

It’s difficult to draw private investment to public markets because the profit margins are tight. O’Neil recalls his tenure as general manager of Reading Terminal Market in Philadelphia from 1980 to 1990. “Back in 1980, the Reading Terminal Market was very neglected, very empty,” he said. “Not completely empty, but I like to say there were more rats than people.”

Change came piece by piece through a series of small adjustments: killing the rats; cleaning the building; adding a new facade. Half the battle, O’Neil said, was changing the perception around Reading Terminal.

“The only way to address that is through action,” O’Neil said.

Eventually, the market’s 23 vendors grew to 80. He recruited a mix of tenants — focusing on diversity of products as well as diversity among the races, income levels and backgrounds of the merchants themselves.

Throughout the transition, O’Neil said, the market had to prioritize public goals over profit, and Baltimore should do the same. Those goals include spurring entrepreneurship, addressing public health needs and staying accessible to customers at all demographics and income levels.

The Fresh at the Avenue stall has already put Upton’s Avenue Market on that path. The stand, which marked its first full year in business on Saturday, provides produce to residents of what is otherwise a food desert.

The stand was created by the No Boundaries Coalition. Tiffany Welch, a food justice organizer with the group, said customers have begun using it for weekly shopping. “It definitely is a ripple effect,” she said. Thomas said Baltimore’s markets, particularly the Avenue Market, are working toward becoming destinations that spur economic development in the neighborhoods they serve. But it’s hard to attract investment to areas in transition.

“It’s an interesting chicken-and-egg circumstance,” Thomas said.