08012014Fri
Last updateFri, 01 Aug 2014 1pm

Guadalajara city hall reveals winning bid for design of new Corona Market

Guadalajara City Hall has chosen a local architectural firm with a laudable pedigree to construct the new Corona Market in downtown Guadalajara.

Fernandez Arquitectos S.C. designed the grand temple for the Luz del Mundo Church in the eastern sector of Guadalajara, as well as the Chamber of Commerce building on Avenida Vallarta.

After announcing the winning bid from 30 applicants, Guadalajara Mayor Ramiro Hernandez said he believed the new Corona Market would become a "symbol of reference" and  major tourist attraction for the city.

The new edifice will replace the antiquated Corona Market structure that was consumed by fire on May 4 and subsequently demolished.

The six-story, 36,000-square-meter building will contain 589 "locales" (spaces) for vendors, as well as 582 underground parking spaces.

The ground floor will contain a restaurant area, while other traders will be located on the second and third floors. Offices are planned for floors four and five, while the top floor will contain a multiple-use salon, terraces and a lookout area. Solar heating panels will be installed on the roof in a bid to reduce the building's electricity expenditure.

The new market will cost an estimated 272 million pesos (20.8 million dollars) and be operated by Guadalajara city hall as a "municipal business."

The design also entails the pedestrianization of two adjoining streets, Santa Monica and Zaragoza.

The winning bid noted that the Y-shaped columns on market's facade reinterpret the doves used widely in Tlaquepaque ceramics.

Representatives for market traders have expressed initial approval for the designs but said it would be unacceptable for the city government to hike annual concession fees to help pay for the new structure.

Work on the new Corona market is expected to be finished by September 2015.