Commons project looking for late summer completion date

Jun. 18—A major downtown project is slowly making its way toward completion. Officials had hoped the $3-million project would go so smoothly that it might be completed by Jan. 1, 2024 or at least by the planned completion date around Valentine Day this year.

The project has not gone smoothly and it now appears completion may not come until Labor Day. Officials say they now believe they have made their way over the hurdles, hiccups and surprises the project has produced.

"It's coming along nicely. Things are coming together here at the end of the project. We are past all of the underground issues that caused problems with the project. We are past that now and we are going to be erecting the last big structure on the site shortly. That place will really be transforming in the coming weeks," said Jeff Owens with Tabor-Owens, the contractor on the project. "The goal is to be done by the end of the summer. Hopefully by the beginning of September, in time for Labor Day. If we don't hit any snags, we should be able to do that."

"A lot of people may not see it, but I do. I see the Commons moving along. I think in a couple of weeks we will see the pavilion on the Fourth Street side go up. The bathrooms are ready to have the walls poured and then they will finish up there," said Washington Mayor David Rhoads. "They will get that pavilion up and then they will move to the stage. Once those things are done, the rest is flat work. That should go quite quickly. There are some sidewalks to be poured."

The Commons project covers three-fourths of the block surrounded by East Main, Southeast Third, South and Southeast Fourth streets. The block sits in the oldest part of town and has been home to a number of buildings over the years.

Those old buildings left all kinds of remnants underground that had been built over and paved over until It came time for the Commons construction.

"Anytime you deal with a project with all of these unknowns, it is challenging. It is something you have to work through. It is something we are used to," said Owens. "We are very fortunate to have a community to work with like this one. The mayor and economic development have been a big part of the success of this project. It has been a complete team effort. At the end of the day, we are going to have a good facility there."

At this point officials are taking the stance that even with a delay, it will be better to get a quality project completed than rush to a shoddy finish.

"That will be six months later than planned, but there were a lot of things that came up that pushed it back," said Rhoads. "I see it coming. It's going to get done and when it is we will have a terrific new addition to the community."

Farmers Market

The entire project may have a summer yet to go, but pavilion and the front third of the Commons is complete opening the way for a local farmers market.

"The response has been good. We have had nice crowds and the nice thing is we have a good mix of vendors. We always have at least two or three produce vendors there. We usually have at least three crafters, people who make hand-made items, and our bake goods. I think people are now getting a feel for it. So far, so good. We have had some decent size crowds so far," said Beth Gabhart, president of Discover Downtown Washington. "It will be even better in July when more of our flower producers will have things to sell. Our produce will keep getting larger as we go."

"We have had three weeks of the farmers market there in the front. I think we have had nine vendors set up selling a little produce, but also baked goods and flowers. It's been good. Every week we see another vendor come in. Some of them are selling out of their items very quickly," said Rhoads. "There will be more, when the produce starts coming on."

This time with the limited space has turned into a time to learn about what will and won't work for the farmers market the commons in the future.

"We knew we would be dealing with limited space and that is why we also limited the number of vendors. We wanted to be certain everyone had enough space and it would not be too crowded. That space has been nice. It has shown us what works and doesn't work. We usually have an entertainer there but we found we cannot have the entertainer too close to the covered area because of the acoustics. If the entertainer is under the roof, it become much louder and makes it difficult to hear and do business," said Gabhart.

"We will have even more vendors joining in in July. We are still trying to keep it small and manageable. We are trying to use this to prepare for bigger action when we expand the farmer's market next year."

Organizers say they have additional ideas for the weekly farmers market. Ideas that will include more than just selling things.

"I think at that time we will look to at least expand our entertainment. Our vendor space will be pretty full at that time because by then we will have plenty of produce and plenty of flowers," said Gabhart. "The one thing we do not seem to have room for is the lawn games. There is no space if the woman who has a yoga studio wants to do a demonstration or hold an introductory class. If they get it completed by Labor Day then we would definitely use that extra space through the end of the season. It will help us take the farmer's market to the next level as a community event."

The farmers market at the commons is something that is tinged with the new. New things draw people for a while but eventually that new wears off. Gabhart says that in order for the market to work the public needs to remain involved.

"I feel it is important that the people to come out and support the market every Saturday. We also need to remind them that while some vendors are there every weekend there are some that will rotate in and give us some new vendors for people to support," said Gabhart. "The vendors so far have been happy. This is coming from their side-gigs and small farms. I think it means a lot to them to see the community purchasing their items and appreciating their hard work."

"People like it. It is bringing people downtown and that is what the Commons is all about. Everybody seems to be enjoying it so far. It is giving the community a taste of what the Commons can be. It can be a farmers market on Saturday morning and once it gets opened up we could have three or four events going on at once," said Rhoads.