Erie Events’ proposed $14 million bayfront market house has received the legislative do-over it needed from Erie City Council to move forward.
At a special June 9 meeting in the Bagnoni Council Chambers at City Hall, City Council, in separate 7-0 votes, both rescinded the panel’s May 20 rejection of the project and approved Erie Events’ request for what’s known as waterfront conditional use zoning approval.
The waterfront conditional use zoning designation applies to development projects in various commercial and residential zoning districts along the city’s waterfront, to make sure they align with planning, environmental and public access standards set by the city.
A rendering of the 27,000-square-foot market house being developed by Erie Events and planned for property near the former GAF Materials Corp. site on the city’s west bayfront.
Any project seeking waterfront conditional use approval must secure City Council’s final OK before it can move forward.
Gus Pine, Erie Events’ executive director, said after council’s vote that “we will look to begin the construction phase immediately” regarding the market house, which is planned just south of the Bayfront Convention Center on the city’s west bayfront.
The market house would feature various Erie-based products; entertainment; and occasional large farmer’s markets, among other offerings. The project has received a $9.5 million state funding commitment from Gov. Josh Shapiro’s administration, and it could be completed as soon as 2027.
“This development is a significant investment in our waterfront and our community,” Pine said. “The market house will be a vibrant, year-round destination that creates economic opportunity, enhances public access to the bayfront, and contributes to the continued growth of our city.”
City Councilman Andre Horton, who voted against the project on May 20, said he now believes it should go forward, in large part because council received additional details from Erie Events June 9 during a pre-meeting caucus.
During that caucus, Pine explained that market house vendors will pay various taxes and that a planned pedestrian overpass/elevator at Sassafras Street, which is part of the ongoing, $112 million Central Bayfront Parkway project, will not happen without the market house.
Erie City Councilman Andre Horton.
The Erie County Convention Center Authority, which oversees Erie Events, has agreed to fund the elevator via a benefit agreement with the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation.
“I believe Erie Events is uniquely qualified to do some of the things that they outlined,” Horton said before the re-vote, adding that his previous vote was largely about looking out for “the future of Erie and those living in the margins.
“I’m allowed to disagree with you,” Horton said.
City faced possibility of court fight without re-vote
On May 20, City Council voted 4-2 against Erie Events’ waterfront conditional use request.
Besides Horton, Council President Tyler Titus and colleagues Jasmine Flores and Marilyn Pol voted no, with councilmembers Ed Brzezinski and Kathy Schaaf voting in favor. Councilman Maurice Troop was absent for the May 20 vote.
Prior to that vote, Horton and others raised questions about whether the market house would widely benefit the public. Others cited dissatisfaction with Erie Events’ tax-exempt status and the general direction of bayfront development.
However, City Council scheduled the June 9 meeting after Erie Events asked for a reconsideration of the project.
The Erie County Convention Center Authority’s solicitor, James Walczak, made it clear to city officials that the organization would likely appeal council’s May 20 denial to Erie County Common Pleas court without one, on grounds that council’s previous vote was based on factors outside of whether the market house complied with waterfront zoning rules.
Previous coverage: Erie City Council could avoid legal fight with market house re-vote
The 27,000-square-foot market house, first announced in 2015, would house businesses at the facility that feature Erie-based products such as wine, chocolates, apparel, and other consumable and retail items.
Erie lawyer James Walczak, solicitor for the Erie County Convention Center Authority, which oversees Erie Events.
The market house will also feature various types of family-friendly games and activities at the property and manage live music and other entertainment. Frequent large farmers markets that offer a wide range of foods both inside and outside the property are also planned.
Erie Events wants to recruit a second tenant to operate a large retail store at the site.
Waterfront conditional use stipulations
Erie Events had agreed to various conditions regarding the project that City Council asked for. Those conditions include:
Maintaining ample “open space” and “green space” at the market house site;
Significant public access, exterior lighting and public benches must be installed there;
Erie Events must make “reasonable efforts to incorporate bird and wildlife sensitive-measures intended to support the safety of birds and/or other migratory species.”
Contact Kevin Flowers at kflowers@timesnews.com. Follow him on X at@ETNflowers.
This article originally appeared on Erie Times-News: Erie City Council OK’s bayfront market house in second vote