News
Pike Place Market's New (Same) Look
March 15, 2012
| You'd think the goal of a $73M public levy to update and refurbish Pike Place Market would be to leave it looking sleek and modern. But you'd be wrong: as the three-year project wraps this month, what delights PPM executive director Ben Franz-Knight most is how hard it is to tell that anything has changed at all. |
 |
| Above, Ben and Kelly Lindsay, Pike Place Market Preservation & Development Authority director of programs and marketing (say that three times fast) strike a pose in front of the PPM sign. The goal of Pike Place Market's "invisible renovation" was bringing the nine-acre site up to 21st century standards while making sure it still looks and feels like it did when it opened in 1907. (OK, maybe not quite like 1907, when there were eight farmers, 10,000 shoppers, and zero fish being tossed around.) Even the new pipes that recycle heat by pumping warmth generated from coolers into the market had to be approved by the Market Historic Commission. Other improvements: electrical and seismic upgrades, new elevators and that most important of public amentities, two new restrooms. |
 |
| Above, a bathroom designed by lead architect SRG, built by lead contractor Turner Construction. Looking at the black and white tiles, it's hard to discern whether they're new or just really clean and well preserved. That's the point, says Ben, who's used to this kind of thing—the 1996 UW grad formerly ran the Santa Monica Pier Restoration Corp. The best compliment he received about the Pike Place project came courtesy of two contractors who stood in the midst of the flying fish one day. Ben: "I heard one of them say to the other, 'They've got this place closed for a month and I still can't see what they've done.'" |
 |
| Not all improvements are so subtle—a large part of the project focused on the Hillclimb; its new staircase anticipates more waterfront access and opens up thousands of square feet of retail space overlooking Western Avenue. Kelly tells us there's 13k SF still up for lease in the market, including a 2,500 SF space with outdoor seating that would be perfect for a restaurant and 600 SF office space in the Economy building. "We have more new rental opportunities in the market than in any period in its recent history," adds Ben. |
 |
| One bonus to renting space in the Economy building is becoming colleagues with the atrium's resident copper squid, a 26-foot work created by Seattle artist Pat Wickline in 2002. There was some talk of moving the squid to the aquarium while the atrium was being renovated, Ben says, but it was a no-go since the squid isn't anatomically correct. Ben assures us no squid were harmed during construction. |
