$130,000 Grant for Future Farmer's Market Site in Fenton

Fenton won a $130,000 grant to build a pavilion at Olde Towne Plaza and a connection to the nearby Meramec Greenway Trail.

The trailhead will be located near Old Highway 141 and Old Gravois Road, which is now a gravel lot. The city hopes to create a farmer's market at the location in the future, said Ward 3 Alderman Chris Clauss.

Fenton-HighRidge Patch first broke the news.

The grant comes from the Municipal Parks Grant Commission, which awarded $3 million in grants to 18 municipalities in the St. Louis region. A portion of Fenton is in St. Louis county and is eligible for St. Louis grants.

If construction is completed as planned, it will be a direct competitor to  the City of Arnold's proposed farmer's market scheduled to open near the Fox School District on Jeffco Boulevard within the next year..

Fenton's new funds will join a Missouri department of Natural Resources Recreation Trail Program grant for more than $83,000 to build the trailhead.

Phase 1 of the project will built by city workers on two acres of undeveloped land within the Fenton Olde Towne Plaza Park in the 300 block of Center Street. The traihead will consist of a 20,500 square-foot parking lot for 40 to 50 vehicles. It will also have a 10-foot wide trail connection from the parking lot to an existing ADA accessible curb, crosswalk and pedestrian signal, which the city says will allow for safe access for pedestrians using the Meramec Greenway Trail.

Phase 2 will be built by Great Rivers Greenway and feature a 1,500-foot trail connection from the existing Meramec Greenway Trail to the trailhead.

The city's share of the project is $31,538 in in-kind contributions, with the remaining $51,521 reimbursed by the RTP grant.

Editor's note: ArnoldPatch Editor Michael de los Reyes contributed to this article.