Eugene’s downtown denizens have noticed work underway outside the Farmers Market Pavilion on 8th and Oak.
Recently, the plaza has been fenced off, with workers pouring concrete. The City of Eugene’s downtown manager, Eric Brown, said they’re replacing the gravel that was around some of the trees.
“That gravel was getting into electrical systems and plumbing systems,” Brown said. “It just wasn’t the right solution in our climate.”
Work on the plaza is expected to wrap up by the end of the first week of March.
Meanwhile, inside the Pavilion, the city has installed fans to help cool things down in the summer. And, it's now equipped with a sound system.
Jana Meszaros, the Pavilion's steward, told KLCC the changes were made after getting feedback from groups that held events there over the past year or so.
“We hope that we can simply meet the needs of what people want to do here," she said. “This last year, in 2024, we are happy to say that we welcomed over 300,000 visitors throughout the entire calendar year.”
Meszaros said the Farmers Market Pavilion and Plaza is now available for public rentals.
The Lane County Farmers Market and the Lane Art Council’s First Friday Art Walk regularly use the space.
Meszaros said the Eugene town square concept that the Farmers Market Pavilion and Plaza was created with lots of research and community engagement.
She said the city wants this to be a community asset for a long time.
“And so we hope to see the building continue for generations, being something that really feels like it's a community asset that it's available for folks to use,” she said. “It's available for folks to experience and have positive gathering moments together.”
