La Boqueria

Imagine a year-round marketplace on K Street downtown that celebrates sustainability and the full spectrum of California-grown-and-produced food products. Imagine a thriving, bustling, permanent farmers’ market, similar to the ones that operate year-round in San Francisco’s Ferry Plaza or Seattle’s Pike Place Market.

Now stop imagining: Let’s make it happen.

Of four proposals for redevelopment of the beleaguered downtown mall, one bid really stood out. Rubicon Partners, the team behind the renovation of the Citizen Hotel, has proposed the Boqueria California: a year-round public market showcasing produce fresh from a seasonal harvest, food carts, stations and restaurants for visitors, and live-music events, and education programs. The full vision for the K Street revitalization includes merging this market with student and middle-income housing, high-end condominiums, an office tower and a possible new home for the California Hall of Fame.

We’ve done plenty of complaining in this space about the blight, inattention and false starts we’ve seen over the years related to the K Street Mall. Maybe that’s all behind us now. Here’s hoping the Boqueria proposal takes off with a shot!