Lido Marina Village farmers market to move to McFadden Square

McFadden Square, at the base of the Newport Pier, will be the new home of a farmers market that for years has operated at Lido Marina Village.

The Newport Beach City Council voted 6-0 on Tuesday night to move the Sprouts of Promise market to McFadden Square beginning Sept. 13. Councilman Keith Curry was absent.

The market will run from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. every Sunday for five years near McFadden Place and West Oceanfront. No more than 40 vendors at a time will be permitted in the plaza and along a portion of the pier.

Sprouts of Promise, which has operated since June 2010 along Via Oporto and Central Avenue, will pay the city $3,600 per year in rent for the new space, according to city documents. It pays the city an annual license fee of $1,680 for its current spot.

Sprouts of Promise representatives could not be reached for comment Wednesday, though the city says they agreed to the move.

The market offers cooking demonstrations and fresh fruit, vegetables and other goods for sale every Sunday.

It has not been open since November because of construction at the Lido Marina Village shopping center. The center has been plagued by vacancies in recent years and is undergoing renovations in an attempt to lure businesses and shoppers back to the area.

City staff also has been looking at ways to revitalize McFadden Square, which led to the city’s idea to move the market, staff said.

“I think that the market will freshen things up in McFadden Square,” said Mayor Pro Tem Diane Dixon. “It’ll bring a different retail experience and consumer to that area of the [Balboa] peninsula.”

Resident Wendy Frankel wrote in an email to the council that she supports relocating the market.

“It never really was much when it was at Lido,” she wrote. “A good farmers market is a gold star for any city, and it would be great for us.”

Sprouts of Promise also has a farmers market from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturdays at South Coast Collection in Costa Mesa.