Cole County officials get update on River Market project at former Missouri State Penitentiary site

City staff and project consultants updated the Cole County Commission on plans to build a River Market pavilion and extend Chestnut Street at the former Missouri State Penitentiary site, saying construction bidding is planned in March and work could begin in May to meet a state land‑conveyance deadline in July 2025.

The presentation, led by Bob Gilbert and a city staff member identified as Rachel, described the project as a multi‑phase community revitalization effort the city expects to fund in part with a $2,100,000 community revitalization grant from the Missouri Department of Economic Development and additional partners; consultants said the River Market facility portion of the project is expected to total about $4,200,000.

The River Market pavilion would be an open, flexible building designed to host a farmer’s market, food trucks and other events. Consultants described a base design with eight overhead vendor doors (accommodating about 16 vendor stalls) and said the site layout allows expansion so tents or additional vendor space could increase capacity—presenters said the site could accommodate more vendors in a future phase. The pavilion will include a conditioned restroom facility and space for storage and utilities; bid alternates may add gas heaters to extend seasonal use.

Consultants said Chestnut Street will be rebuilt as a full city street (currently a utility access road) to serve the River Market and the nearby State Health Laboratory under construction. Design work shows Chestnut grading will require roughly 6 feet of fill at the cul‑de‑sac to match the health lab elevations; presenters flagged utility coordination and relocation as likely schedule and cost challenges.

The presentation also addressed site cleanup and demolition. A city staff member said the state still controls the masonry wall on the property and that the state has 48 hours under the land‑conveyance agreement to notify the city of its plans for the wall; the state has said it intends to salvage and palletize stone where practicable. Presenters said some portions of the wall are rubble‑filled and may not yield reusable stone; if the state leaves material on site, the city may crush and reuse it for fill.

Presenters described a historic storm culvert beneath parts of the site and noted stormwater and subgrade conditions will require attention in construction. They also said the demolition contractor is scheduled to begin work in late February to early March, and the city is preparing bid documents so the market can meet the state construction start requirement.

On long‑term connectivity, staff described a phase 3 concept to connect the market area to nearby parks and Adriance Island. They said the team is pursuing federal Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) outdoor recreation partnership funding, which is a 50/50 match program; staff said the program can support up to $15 million in matching local funds (i.e., a $30 million buildout if fully leveraged). That connectivity work is not planned for immediate construction and would be considered for 2027–28 in their timeline.

Commissioners and attendees asked about parking, security and vendor operations. Presenters said a parking area on the southeast corner of the site and Chestnut Street parking would serve events but that a total parking count was not available at the meeting. They said the parks department intends to operate and rent the pavilion similarly to other county or JC Parks facilities; no private market operator had been selected at the time of the briefing, though vendors or market operators could lease or enter an operator agreement in future phases.

Presenters identified the Missouri Department of Conservation as a prospective partner for vegetation management and invasive species removal, noting a multiyear effort is needed to restore riverfront native plantings. They also said the project team has included RV hookups and conduit banks for future power and water hookups for food trucks as part of the site design.

The presentation closed with a request that the commission consider the schematic and allow staff to proceed with the bid schedule; no formal vote on the project or funding commitments was taken at the meeting.

Ending: Staff said a PDF of the presentation and plan sheets would be provided to commissioners for further review; commissioners and staff will continue coordination on bidding, utility coordination and state salvage of wall stone.