Quality shedding: year-round farmer’s market

The Central New York Regional Market Authority (CNYRMA) in Syracuse, N.Y., has a diverse and thriving farmer’s market that’s a year-round destination: the Regional Market Commons is “a safe and trusted community landmark, providing economic, social and nutritional value to the area.” When CNYRMA sought a new multipurpose facility to house additional vendors, challenging conditions and cost considerations were paramount. The group selected Legacy Building Solutions, South Haven, Minn., with expertise in tensioned fabric roofing, to design and build a year-round 80-by-273-foot shed that adds 75 stalls to the market’s capacity.

Soil problems necessitated building on a floating concrete slab, and a distinctive look to the historical buildings on-site led Legacy Building Solutions to design a hybrid structure. Its green steel exterior sheeting on a rigid frame and white tensioned-fabric roof gives the shed a similar look and feel to the existing structures. The polyethylene fabric roof allows abundant natural light into the interior, but is rugged enough to withstand 90 mph winds and 33.5 pounds-per-square-foot snowfall. An LED lighting system, active and passive ventilation, a wet sprinkler system and ceiling heating units give the shed year-round comfort. “It’s been used almost every weekend this summer for the farmers’ market and has also held some concerts,” says Ben Vitale, executive director of CNYRMA. For more, read the “Insiders” interview on page 69 of this issue, and visit legacybuildingsolutions.com.