Work has started on a year-round, indoor, nonprofit public market at 8th and Farnam streets in downtown Omaha.
Heritage Omaha is leading the project and working with Project for Public Spaces, a global leader in placemaking that believes great public spaces can strengthen communities.
Heritage Omaha has secured the necessary funding from philanthropic supporters to begin work on the site, which is adjacent to Heartland of America Park on The RiverFront.
The public market aims to create a vibrant destination for people to gather while shopping from local small businesses selling a variety of fresh, prepared, and specialty foods as well as locally-made goods.
The three-story, 52,000-square-foot market is expected to open in 2028.
Your Market. Your Voice.
In summer 2025, project partners invited the public to share feedback about how a public market could best support the community through interactive workshops and surveys for both community members and aspiring vendors, including food entrepreneurs, farmers, and artisans.
Thank you to the thousands of people who participated! Your feedback helped shape a market concept that feels uniquely ‘Omaha.’
The public market site is located at 8th and Farnam streets along The RiverFront’s Heartland of America Park, near the Skate Ribbon and the Farnam Promenade.
What is a Public Market?
A public market offers locally owned and operated businesses a central place to sell a variety of goods, including fresh and prepared foods. Public markets are set apart from other types of retail, such as grocery stores, by a few key criteria:
Having public goals, or clear and tangible ways they aim to benefit their local communities;
Operating in a public space, or creating a public space, so they provide inclusive places for the community to gather; and
Serving locally owned and operated businesses, which feeds money back into the local economy while creating low-risk opportunities for entrepreneurs and small businesses.
To learn more about public markets, please visit Project for Public Spaces’ website.
