An artist’s rendering of the proposed building for the new Norwich farmer’s market. Image courtesy of the Upper Valley Agricultural Association This story by Clare Shanahan was first published in Valley News on Nov. 28, 2025. NORWICH — The town has granted permission to a nonprofit to build a permanent all-season structure for the Norwich Farmer’s Market on a property across Route 5 from the market’s current location. The Norwich Development Review Board approved the nonprofit’s plans to develop about 9.5 acres of a 35-acre property it plans to purchase. The project includes constructing a 7,500-square-foot building in the shape of a large barn, an outdoor vendor area, a picnic area and parking, according to the board’s written decision, filed on Nov. 13. The Upper Valley Agricultural Association, a nonprofit created in 2024 “with the primary intent of trying to find a permanent home for the market,” proposed the project, association President Peggy Allen said at a mid-October Development Review Board hearing. A group has been working on the $4.7 million project for about three years, she said. The nonprofit began eyeing the vacant property for the project in summer 2024 and since then has finalized a purchase-and-sale agreement with the out-of-state landowner, Rose Z Dyke Trust in care of Judith Currier of Leesburg, Va. Allen declined to say when the sale will close, although she did say it will be “soon” and is “on schedule.” The new property sits across the road from the current summer market location on Route 5 in Norwich. The Norwich Farmers Market leases the current summer market site from the Hanover Consumer Cooperative Society and holds its winter market days in Tracy Hall. Nancy Jarvis, 73, gathers ingredients to make lasagna and pays with Vermont Farm to Family for Seniors coupons, received from the Bugbee Senior Center, at the Norwich Farmers Market on Saturday, Sept. 6, 2025. The program provided $48 dollars worth of coupons that can be used for produce at participating farm stands and markets. She also gets produce from Willing Hands and farms that contribute directly to the senior center, and shops with her $211 of monthly SNAP benefits. Photo by James M. Patterson/Valley News In addition to creating a permanent home for the market, the project aims to reduce traffic congestion, parking and capacity issues with the winter market at Tracy Hall. Also, the outdoor market’s current site sits below Route 5 and is prone to flooding in heavy rain. One of the biggest challenges with the current summer market location is parking, which often fills up early in the morning and overflows into the parking lot for Fogg’s Lumber and Hardware next door. Because the current parking lot has no lined spaces, it is difficult to say how many cars come to the weekly market, Allen said. On one Saturday in August, she counted 850 cars between when the first customers arrived to get parking before 9 a.m., and 1 p.m. when the market wraps up for the day, she said. The market runs 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. every Saturday from May through October and twice a month on Saturdays from November to April. There are no current plans to expand market hours, but they “certainly” would not be reduced and can be adjusted in the future if that would help the market “thrive,” Allen said Monday. The new property will have 270 parking spaces. Attendees listen to live music played under the gazebo at the Norwich Farmers’ Market in Norwich on Saturday, June 14, 2025. Photo by Alex Driehaus/Valley News Under the proposed plan, the summer farmers market would be hosted mostly in the outdoor vendor area, but the building would have large garage doors that could be opened to host some vendors inside. “If we’re going to build this kind of building it’s ridiculous for it to only be utilized for a winter market,” Allen said. In the winter, the market would be inside the building with some vendors set up under an overhanging roof around the outside of the building. In addition to hosting the weekly market in the building, the nonprofit plans to host related activities, classes and events and to rent the facility out for community events. This will hopefully help to cover operating costs. Allen said she does not know what the market is currently paying in rent, but said the goal is to create an “easy transition” with similar expenses to the current market. Gail McCabe, of Quechee, and her husband, Bernie, browse through the tomato plants behind a row of flowering nasturtium at the Luna Bleu stall at the Norwich farmers market in Norwich on May 24, 2008. File photo by Jason John/Valley News As a condition of development review board approval, the facility can be rented out only for “community use,” or events that are for the town, community or school groups or “gatherings that are intended for the benefit of the public.” The nonprofit has raised $1 million as of last week, Allen said. The next phase is to raise another $3.7 million by the end of next year to cover the cost of the land, infrastructure and the building. The nonprofit has started seeking money from local donors and is looking at other sources, including applying for a $1 million Northern Border Regional Commission catalyst grant. As for water and sewer connections, the society has been in talks with Hartford about connecting to its municipal infrastructure. The Hartford Selectboard unanimously approved moving forward with discussions about the water system at a July meeting, but said a feasibility study had to be completed first. At the time of the meeting, Allen said the market was prepared to move forward with the project even without Hartford’s infrastructure but that would be very challenging. Members of the Hartford town staff are discussing with engineers for the project the work necessary to connect the building to the town’s infrastructure, Hartford Town Manager John Haverstock said Tuesday. The Agricultural Association also has been in talks with Twin Pines Housing Trust about building affordable housing on the property, but Allen said that possibility is not part of the current proposal. If the project moves forward, the land will be subdivided and developed separately. The review board approval this month marks another step forward for the project. This summer, the Norwich Planning Board cleared one hurdle by adjusting the town’s zoning code to create a definition for open-air markets. The nonprofit also has to secure an Act 250 permit from the state before it can move ahead with the development. The nonprofit has not yet filed a permit application, but it has taken some “proactive” steps such as completing a survey for indigenous artifacts on the land, Allen said. The survey found that there were no artifacts, clearing one of many steps that could have been a “brick wall” for the project. The current plan is to break ground next spring and finish construction “before the snow falls in 2026,” but this timeline could shift depending on how fundraising goes, according to the application. Read the story on VTDigger here: Norwich farmers market secures approval for permanent all-season structure. ...read more read less