McEnery’s Market

San Jose Inside – McEnery’s Market:

Of course the Public Market will be a boon to McEnery and his partners. By investing $5 million to build a pedestrian mall, expand a parking garage, and help with the construction costs of several new structures near San Pedro Square, the City is in effect helping the private enterprise that McEnery and his partners have launched. But these investments will likely also benefit other Downtown businesses and the city as a whole. That’s how these public-private partnerships work. And as we have seen, they work.

We are hearing, in the weeks since the project was announced, from the doubters who can’t see a Public Market succeeding in San Jose. Others simply can’t get past the idea of tax dollars benefiting private businesses.

Count me as one of those people who’d love to see a thriving public market here in the south bay. Anyone who’s been to Pike Place Market in Seattle has some idea of what it can do and be — but I’m even more of a fan of Granville Island in Vancouver. Even London Quoy in North Vancouver, Granville’s smaller brother, is a neat spot for shopping and lunch.

The naysayers — mostly, they seem to not want to see McEnery benefit. If it makes financial sense for the city, we shouldn’t let the personalities involved stop it. Too bad the city of San Jose spent, what, $30 million trying to stop the county from building the theater on the fair grounds, especially since it looks like neither theater will ever get built, at least in my lifetime; it sure would be nice to have that money for projects like this.

I do, though, have questions about this public market; the area has tried this concept once before, in Mountain View at the Old Mill property, and it had this same kind of enthusiasm and it failed miserably. I’ve never seen a cogent explanation why — it wasn’t the greatest building, but was in a good area, good local population, good support, strong interest and good vendors early, lots of parking and nice access. And it failed.

So why is this proposal different and better? Why will it succeed where the Mountain View one didn’t? Before the city commits to this, I’d love to hear why this second run at the public market won’t end up like the first one, especially since, while I like the San Pedro Square area, access and parking aren’t going to be as good as the old Mountain View market had?

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