Contact: Bill Rice (202) 437-7787

The DC Office of Property Management (OPM) has engaged Project for Public Spaces (PPS), a nationally recognized nonprofit organization specializing in activating and managing public spaces, to work with the community to define the management needed to move Eastern Market forward. PPS will develop a Request for Proposals for market management to realize the holistic vision for the Market embodied in the Eastern Market legislation.  

“We look forward to a market manager who will bring together all segments of the Eastern Market experience,” said Lars Etzkorn, Director of OPM.  “While we have largely overcome the immediate consequences of the fire with the success of the temporary East Hall, the manager will integrate the many, often varied elements that are the Market’s secret.”

Under the $49,000 contract, PPS will analyze the operations of the original Eastern Market, including the North Hall and the East Hall, and the retailing by farmers and vendors around the Market and on 7th Street, SE.  As it has in similar procurements, OPM will convene a public-private advisory committee, including Eastern Market Community Advisory Committee (EMCAC), to evaluate the proposals and recommend a selection.     

"Hiring PPS is a major step forward to uniting the many elements that make up Eastern Market and create an even better, unique urban experience," said Ward 6 Councilmember Tommy Wells.  "I look forward to working with PPS and the community to develop the RFP."

"EMCAC welcomes this opportunity to define the future direction of the Market as we search for the best management for the next phase of this precious community asset and realize the vision of a unified management as expressed in the Eastern Market legislation,” said Donna Scheeder, EMCAC Chair. “We can't wait to get started."

The PPS team is led by David K. O’Neil, former general manager of the nationally know Reading Terminal Market in Philadelphia (1980-90).  He has consulted on markets around the world, authored books on the Reading Market and other public markets and worked on projects in Portland, Chicago, Anchorage, Detroit, and Flint, Michigan and in other cities. 

OPM plans to distribute the RFP in late winter, 2008.