A public market and mixed-use complex supporting the local community
Pike Place Market in Seattle renovated historic waterfront buildings to create a thriving farmers market with retail, low-income housing, and social services. Much more than a market, the project spans seven acres and includes 300 businesses and 750 subsidized housing units in an interdependent network of business owners, consumers, and neighbors.
High praise goes to projects that serve a broad cross-section of society and Pike Place Market emerged as the winner partly because it has become a place for nearly everyone.
1987 Selection Committee
The Market Foundation, created to support local residents, offers a wide a variety of social services including a health clinic, food bank, child care center, and senior center to strengthen and serve the community.
The farmers market was established in 1907 by local farmers in response to steep price increases in produce. The project preserves the founders’ commitment to creating and serving community by combining retail with residential units and social services. At the same time, the project preserves a section of the city’s waterfront, mixing new development with the adaptive reuse of several blocks of historic buildings. The market’s programming reflects its intention to attract a diverse population to the venue, where people can still “meet the producers” in the oldest continually run farmers market in the country.