One of the poorest parts of D.C. is getting a brand new food and farmers market pavilion.
City leaders cut the ribbon Wednesday on the new marketplace on the grounds of the old St. Elizabeths Hospital. It will serve current residents and thousands of new federal workers moving into the area.
The city hopes the new, $8 million pavilion, with its green roof and places to eat, will be a lunch destination and community gathering place for nearby residents and for thousands of federal workers expected to walk over through a tunnel from the still developing Homeland Security headquarters. A few thousand workers already are looking for lunch spots.
The outdoor-indoor facility has room for 40 vendors and a dozen food trucks, plus year-round community meeting space.
D.C. native and U.S. Coast Guard commander Vice Adm. Manson Brown said the food destination is overdue in the ward.
