During the April 10 meeting, the Renton City Council voted to accept a $1.5 million federal grant from the U.S. Small Business Administration that will be used to help transform the Pavilion building in the center of downtown Renton into the Logan Place Market.

The vision for the project is one that would rehabilitate an older and underused building in Renton’s civic core into a year-round food hall and market.

Plans for the Pavilion Building, first outlined in a Civic Core planning document, call for the Pavilion to be renovated into a more “vibrant” Logan Place Market with retail space, rotating vendors and business incubator space on the inside, complemented by a welcoming public square on the outside.

In some preliminary discussions by Renton leaders and stakeholders about the potential uses for the Logan Place Market, some envisioned permanent kitchen spaces for pop-ups and ghost kitchens as well as partnerships with Renton Technical College to allow hands-on learning experiences for certain trade programs.

The square outside the Logan Place Market will focus on community spaces to include seating, play areas, gathering spots, and hosting events. Public access to restrooms has also been discussed to help provide longer visitation access to the public square.

According to a report in the 2023-2025 Capital Budget Request, the city sees a “dire” need to refurbish the Pavilion Building to create a “new heartbeat in the center of downtown,” and to bring new opportunities and access to historically disadvantaged communities. The vision for the Logan Place Market aims to do just that.

The City submitted a grant request for funding in the amount of $1,500,000 with Sen. Patty Murray (D-WA) and Congressman Adam Smith (D-WA) during the 2023 Congressional Earmark Initiatives.

The city says that with this grant money, the design process for turning the old Pavilion building into Logan Place Market can begin.