The Arnold Farmers Market is expanding.
Arnold Parks and Recreation Department staff members have already started building about 40 additional vendor spaces at the market, which is near the entrance of Arnold City Park off Jeffco Boulevard near the Meramec River.
Those employees started installing wood beams on Aug. 4, said Ajsa Roach, the parks department deputy director.
She said the first phase of the expansion will not be completed until next year. A second phase will include building a second market square, also expected to be completed in 2026.
“It will basically make a big square when it is all done,” Roach said. “All of this will hopefully be ready for the 2026 market season.”
Parks and Recreation Department director Dave Crutchley said the city did not plan to start work at the market until after approval of the 2025-2026 budget, which is expected later this month, but his department had additional funds left in this year’s budget and started early. Arnold’s fiscal year runs from Sept. 1 through Aug. 31 every year.
Crutchley said the supplies for the expansion work underway cost about $3,800, and there is no labor cost because staff members are constructing the new spaces.
He said a final estimated cost for the expansion will be finalized when the 2025-2026 budget is approved.
Roach said when the expansion is completed, the market will have more than 80 spaces for vendors. The market currently has room for 47 vendors, with 40 stalls that surround the Jaycee Pavilion, where an additional seven vendors can set up for the market.
The new spaces are being built west of the existing market toward the park’s entrance off Jeffco Boulevard. Roach said the addition to the market will have electrical outlets for vendors.
She said the work on the addition will likely continue through the end of this month before stopping as the city prepares for Arnold Days, set for Sept. 19-21.
Roach said the expansion work may resume again after the annual festival before stopping again as the city prepares the market area for its annual Christmas in the Park event on Dec. 6.
During the regular Arnold Farmers Market season, which typically begins on the last Saturday in April and runs through the second Saturday in November, the city receives more than 200 applications from vendors who want to sell their products at the market, so there’s plenty of interest from vendors to fill the extra spaces under construction, Roach said.
“The number of vendors who want to attend the market continues to grow,” she said.
The Arnold Farmers Market is open from 8 a.m. to noon on Saturdays during its regular season. The city also typically holds seasonal markets on the second Saturday of the month between December and March.
During the market season, about 2,000 customers shop there each Saturday, Roach said.
The expansion project comes on the heels of another improvement at the market. A permanent restroom building was installed and opened in June, she said.
Arnold paid CXT Inc. $107,718 for the prefabricated restroom facility.
“People love it,” Roach said. “They now get to use a permanent bathroom instead of a portable one. We have received so many compliments. That was definitely a great addition to the market.”