Tupelo depot pavilion project moves forward

CALEB MCCLUSKEY, Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal, Tupelo
Updated ·2 min read

TUPELO — Tupelo officials took the next step in the construction of a new depot-style pavilion in the heart of downtown they hope will bring activities new and old to the area.

The Tupelo City Council voted unanimously among present members on Tuesday to approve a $1.9 million contract with Booneville-based Master Craft Builders for the city’s depot project, which will be the new home of Downtown Tupelo’s farmers market.

“This project came in under budget, which is good,” Ward 3 Councilman Travis Beard said.

Master Craft Builders were the lowest of six bidders, beating out its competitors by about $100,000. Even with the alternatives, which are added on items to a project’s design that are not priority but preferred, Lewis said the project came in significantly under budget. The city budgeted about $2.1 million for the project.

Dirt work to prepare the land, which was a parking lot on North Front Street between Court and Jefferson streets near Tupelo Hardware, began months ago with drainage upgrades, according to Chief Operations Officer Don Lewis. The city’s goal is to create a spot not only for the farmers’ market but also for other activities including six to eight spots for food trucks.

“As we build this, we are going to look at a few changes, so that gives some room to work with,” Lewis said of the extra funds in the budget.

As of Wednesday, the farmers market season is in full swing every Saturday morning from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. until Oct. 26. The project, Lewis said, will begin in July and should wrap up in April, meaning the market will not move until the next season. He said the city plans to hold a few spring events at the new depot next year once it is open as well.

Tek1 Studio Principal Architect Chris Root worked on the design and handled the bidding process.

Root told members of Tupelo City Council on Monday that the new design has taken cues from the old depot.

Ward 4 Councilwoman Nettie Davis said she was glad the design of the old building will bleed through to the new depot.

“It was a building we tried to save, but it ended up having to be demolished,” she said, referring to the train depot that once stood in that location, then servicing both the Mobile and Ohio Railroad and the St. Louis–San Francisco Railway.

The original depot was demolished in the late 70s to make way for an overpass through Tupelo that never got funding.