WHAT WE REPORTED The first phase of construction is nearly underway for the Saint Elmo Public Market development—a mixed-use project slated to include an indoor-outdoor public market, food truck court, 100,000 square feet of office space, a 150-room boutique hotel and a 360-unit apartment complex.

THE LATEST Matt Stevens, partner at the project’s development firm Maker Bros., said the building’s current tenants, Office Furniture Now, will move out in February or March, and construction on the 40,000-square-foot marketplace will begin shortly thereafter.

The project is in the design phase,  Stevens said.

“The two biggest [priorities] right now are finishing our research and development and getting the right tenants in place.”

Stevens said the goal for the marketplace layout is to maintain flexibility so the space is equipped for a variety of tenants, which the developer said he hopes to have in place by the end of the year. Live music will have a strong presence in Saint Elmo Public Market, Stevens said; however, plans to relocate the famed Saxon Pub music venue are no longer on the table.

The marketplace will be the heart of the development, Stevens said.

“We believe that once fully occupied, the marketplace will drive demand for every other use in the development,” he said.  

WHAT'S NEXT Maker Bros. has secured 2 1/2 acres in front of the marketplace for a 150-room boutique hotel and a food truck court—the latter of which is slated to be up and running by March.

“We have been talking with an operator and are pretty far down the road with him,” Stevens said.