EDMONTON — The historic Ritchie neighbourhood will soon be home to a brand new commercial development.
A groundbreaking ceremony was held Thursday for the Ritchie Market project. Scheduled to open in the second half of 2016, the 15,000 square-foot, two-storey building will be located on the corner of 96 Street and 76 Avenue.
The market will be home to a locally-owned brewery and restaurant, Transcend Coffee, a Velocity Cycle concept store and Acme Meat Market.
The Ritchie Market is the brainchild of Greg Zeschuk, co-founder of BioWare and Poul Mark, founder of Transcend Coffee. They say the market is a great way to bring back the idea of “local” to the neighbourhood, providing a place for community members to meet and engage with each other.
“Ritchie, the neighbourhood, is a really interesting area with an eclectic mix of students, families, retirees, artists and business people heavily engaged with their community,” Zeschuk said.
“We want to get back to the idea of a community hub.”
“It is very important to us that Ritchie Market fits within the tightly knit and engaged Ritchie community. It’s their neighbourhood, after all – we’re just the new neighbours,” Mark added.
Trevor Hamilton, who lives in the neighbourhood, said he’s excited for what the new development will bring to the area.
“It’s a good local community feel,” said Hamilton. “You can tell that a lot of people are supporting it and a lot of people are enthusiastic.”
Thursday’s ground breaking ceremony also included a community potluck.