Market Construction Shifts to Basement and Temporary Storage

By patrickwestsidemarket | March 19, 2026
An aerial view of the future east connector between the Market Hall and the North Arcade.

After re-opening the renovated KeyBank Produce Arcade, the next stages of the Market’s $70 million Transformation Project focus on completely overhauling the Market’s basement and continuing work on the future connectors between the Market Hall and the North Arcade.

An essential component of the West Side Market’s transformation is ensuring that the Market remains open with normal business hours throughout the project. This means preparing certain areas for staging and temporary use before they receive their permanent renovations. The basement is where merchants store and prepare their products since the Market’s opening in 1912. To completely gut and modernize this back-of-house space, temporary storage space needs to be created for merchants to continue to operate.

The North Arcade, which officially closed for construction and renovation on January 9, 2026, as well as the alleyway between the Market Hall and the North Arcade, have been repurposed as temporary storage and work space for the Market’s vendors. This includes building new climate controlled coolers, each with their own cutting and cleaning spaces.

Uneven alley pavement has been excavated and new cement will be poured in order to house temporary food storage and cutting coolers. Coolers will be built both in the alleyway as well as in the North Arcade, seen on the left. The future East Connector can be seen in the background.

In addition, progress continues on the connector walkways that will serve as both a covered public access point between the North Arcade and Market Hall, as well as a back-of-house elevator access point to the renovated basement for produce merchants operating in the KeyBank Produce Arcade.

Once basement work is complete, Market merchants will move back into their renovated, permanent basement storage spaces and the project can shift to its final stages. Final project efforts include converting the alleyway into a permanent outdoor courtyard between two connector walkways and converting the North Arcade into a prepared food hall containing up to 12 local, independently owned businesses serving food and alcohol in an area with extensive seating options.

A rendering detailing the future outdoor courtyard. The renovated North Arcade, offering prepared food and both indoor and outdoor seating, can be seen on the right. The future west connector can be seen in the background.

Fundraising for these final stages is still underway. The completion of the Transformation Project is critical to ensuring the Market’s sustained success, securing its future for generations to come. You can support the Market’s future by making a donation to the Transformation Project today.

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