Iloilo Central Market Promenade View From The Podium
The Iloilo Central Market is a proposed building construction project with a heritage restoration feature for its front facade. The present structure occupies 1.37 hectare and is bounded by major avenues in the city such as Iznart, Rizal, Aldeguer and Guanco streets.
Once completed, much of the area of the central market will be occupied by a 3 five-storey mixed-used structure that will be leasable to private establishment and businesses. It will also include a parking building and internal roads to improve traffic and accessibility.
Land use components are the following:
a) Commercial arcade for the existing Heritage building;
b) Office/residential towers and a parking building linked by a podium for the main area behind the Heritage building;
c) Wet market and dry goods area under the podium;
d) Open public promenade adjacent to the Heritage building; and
e) Miscellaneous commercial stall strip along Aldeguer and Guanco strips.
The beautiful art-deco 2 storey V-shaped facade of the central market will be preserved and restored. Between the retained facade and the main complex will be a promenade that will include open spaces, restaurants, and possibly an activity center.
The project also calls for another effort to take the welfare of present vendors into consideration. The pre-feasibility study suggested the creation of training and organization programs with the help of NGOs, including microfinance mechanisms, in order to enhance business practices and consumer services of local vendors or “hawkers”.
It is important to note that the basic concepts of this project is to improve infrastructure and utility to make the present market an interesting and convenient urban consumer area while preserving the city’s heritage. By making the heritage feature an integral part of this redevelopment effort, the city hopes to attract more tourists and foster a pride of place for Ilonggos in general.
Source: Iloiloilove.com
