Apr. 14, 2024 2p
(WGTD)---Kenosha Public Market--the Saturday market that during the warm-weather months sets up in the Municipal Building parking lot--is seeking to turn a long-vacant downtown department store into a grocery.
The non-profit is seeking to buy from the city the Alford Building, located in the northwest corner of 58th St. and 7th Ave.
Public Market is apparently abandoning plans to build a two-story structure on vacant city-owned land about two blocks east on 6th Ave.
The Kenosha City Council is expected to review a purchase option for the Alford Monday night.
The tentative agreement includes a $285,000 price tag, an amount that could be reimbursed if the non-profit spends at least $1 million to rehabilitate the building. But according to city documents, it would take $4 million just to bring the property up to code.
Kenosha Public Market wants to use the building for a grocery store and a "food educational center."
In recent years, at least two housing developers have expressed an interest in buying the building. A proposal from one was rejected by the city's Plan Commission over on-street parking concerns.
The proposed purchase option would expire In January of 2025, although it could be extended by six months upon request.
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