photo by: Screenshot from Lawrence Farmers Market website

A rendering of a possible permanent location for the Lawrence Farmers Market at its current location, the parking lot at 824 New Hampshire St. The market will present ideas for a permanent location based on a feasibility study to city officials Monday night.

Four potential sites have risen to the top of the Lawrence Farmers Market list of sites that could host a permanent location downtown. The Lawrence Farmers Market will present the results from a feasibility study to city staff on Monday about its search for a permanent downtown location.

The potential sites being explored include the market’s current location at the parking lot at 824 New Hampshire St., the parking lot at Ninth Street and Vermont Street, a location near Seventh Street that appears from online renderings to be partially in Watson Park and a South Park location that would be in the northwestern corner of the park near 11th and Vermont Streets.

As the Journal-World reported, the market has for several years been searching for a permanent location, but it received a boost last year after it received a Kansas Healthy Foods Initiative grant to conduct the feasibility study. Additionally, the City Commission approved a budget for 2026 that allocated $175,000 in the city’s Capital Improvement Plan for the search for the permanent location.

According to the farmers market’s website, the market’s Long-Term Planning Committee began presenting four design concepts based on community feedback and discussions with stakeholders. Those locations were based on a number of priorities, including ensuring the market was downtown, was able to fit a pavilion and had restrooms on site.

Emily Lysen, the market’s director of development, previously told the Journal-World that with a permanent location, the market would be able to solve logistical issues for vendors, like a lack of access to electricity or water, and create a better experience for visitors.

photo by: Screenshot from Lawrence Farmers Market website

A map outlining the final site ideas for a permanent location in downtown Lawrence for the Lawrence Farmers Market from a feasibility study. The Parks and Recreation Advisory Board will hear a presentation about the possible sites on Monday night.

Based on renderings on the website, the potential sites would include parking spaces for vendors at each location and all include permanent pavilion structures that would protect the space from the elements. Lysen previously told the Journal-World that rain often meant the market “generally lost 30% of its customers,” and the shade could allow for extending the hours of the market.

Some of the potential locations have already caused some concern from Parks and Rec Advisory Board members. According to a draft letter, while the board values the farmers market as a “longstanding community asset,” it shared “significant concerns” about choosing a permanent location in either Watson or South Parks.

The draft letter felt putting in permanent infrastructure at those locations “could alter the character of these parks and reduce the flexibility needed for a wide variety of community events and outdoor recreation,” and it urged exploring alternative locations that “could meet the Farmers’ Market’s needs without compromising the integrity of South Park or Watson Park.”

Lysen did not provide further comment to the Journal-World about the potential locations; however, the market’s website noted the possible sites offered from the study were “ideas only and are subject to change based on community feedback, and the market “anticipate(s) presenting one site location to the City of Lawrence for (its) permanent location in early 2026.”

Additionally, the market will host a community town hall event on Wednesday at the Lawrence Public Library, 707 Vermont St., from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. that will serve as a “presentation and community forum,” according to an email it shared with the public Thursday.

The Parks and Recreation Advisory Board will meet on Monday night at 5:30 p.m. at City Hall, 6 E. Sixth St.

photo by: Screenshot from Lawrence Farmers Market website

A rendering of a possible permanent location for the Lawrence Farmers Market at a city parking lot near Ninth and Vermont Streets. The market will present ideas for a permanent location based on a feasibility study to city officials Monday night.

photo by: Screenshot from Lawrence Farmers Market website

A rendering of a possible permanent location for the Lawrence Farmers Market built partially on Watson Park along Seventh Street. The market will present ideas for a permanent location based on a feasibility study to city officials Monday night.

photo by: Screenshot from Lawrence Farmers Market website

A rendering of a possible permanent location for the Lawrence Farmers Market on the northwest portion of South Park near Vermont and 11th Streets. The market will present ideas for a permanent location based on a feasibility study to city officials Monday night.