Erie market’s future

Erie Street Market’s best days may be behind it, or they may be yet to come. That will depend on the city’s ability to recruit the right private partner.

The decision by Toledo Mayor Mike Bell’s administration to close all that’s left in the downtown market but the Libbey Glass outlet store is not surprising. It signals the end, for now, of a publicly funded venture that was launched with good intentions but never found its niche.

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City officials concede that they are not developers. The private sector is better equipped to read market trends and understand how to make a project such as the Erie Street market work, once initial excitement over its novelty fades.

Deputy Mayor Tom Crothers says the fate of the Libbey store will be decided before its lease expires in September. The city would like Libbey to stay, he adds.

More broadly, Mr. Crothers says, the ideal buyer will see the market’s potential for a grocery store and other retailers that can serve an influx of working professionals who are leasing apartments in the warehouse district. An emphasis on boutique-type stores is not likely to meet the needs of that demographic.

Mr. Crothers says the city has “some significantly attractive leads on the horizon,” although no deals are imminent.

The city has lost $250,000 annually on the Erie Street Market in recent years, mostly for utility and maintenance expenses, despite Libbey’s stable clientele. A buyer would put 80,000 square feet of potentially valuable property back on the tax rolls.

In its early days, the market looked promising as a city-run venture. U.S. Rep. Marcy Kaptur (D., Toledo) secured federal funding for the market’s first major restoration in the mid-1990s.

Advocates said the market could become a major attraction for downtown Toledo. Then-Mayor Carty Finkbeiner promoted the project vigorously.

The Erie Street Market fell victim to internal politics, poor management, and a loss of tenants because of high rents. Most of all, though, it failed from a lack of sustained community interest. “It just hasn’t caught on,” Mr. Crothers says. “It’s as simple as that.”

Instead of writing the Erie Street Market’s swan song and giving up, the city needs to move forward. That starts with finding the right buyer.