MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Community leaders want to breath new life into a vacant and blighted piece of property in Raleigh at the corner of Austin Peay and Raleigh Millington Road.
It’s a vacant lot now, but the hope is that the land will be an oasis in what some call a “food desert.”
State Representative Antonio Parkinson came up with an idea for the Raleigh Farmers Market after visiting the popular Nashville Farmers Market in 2013.
“I said to myself. ‘We need that in Raleigh,’ and self said, ‘We sho do.”
The land that was once an auto dealership was acquired by TDOT and used for storage. The city of Memphis purchased the land recently for approximately $30,000.
Artist renderings show a complex with much more than a farmers market. There will eventually be a little league football field, walking track and amphitheater.
The proposed farmers market is about a mile from the $37 million Raleigh Town Center project.
Memphis Mayor Jim Strickland says the Raleigh Farmers Market represents the latest in the city’s efforts to insure all areas have access to fresh foods.
“We’ve been successful on South Third. We’re working on something in Orange Mound where a Kroger had closed.. But even in areas that have grocery stores several miles away, they still need access to fresh vegetables.”
There are several partners in the project. We’re told there’s no official sate yet for construction.
