Troy

The Troy Waterfront Farmers Market, which had been considering a temporary relocation this summer to Riverfront Park in Troy, will stay put on River Street.

Seth Jacobs, a farmer who is also president of the market's board of directors, announced the decision Wednesday afternoon.

The market had planned to move from the Monument Square area as construction gets under way at 1 Monument Square, which will provide a permanent year-round home for the market.

Instead, they'll work around the construction.

The market is in the Troy Atrium in the winter months, open from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturdays.

From the beginning of May until the end of October, it is outside, also from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturdays. But where it would be outside this summer was not determined until this week.

"We're really grateful to the city of Troy because they made it clear no matter what we decided they'd support us," Jacobs said Wednesday. "We're really glad to be in a community where everybody gets it that the market is not in competition" with businesses downtown.

In fact, many businesses have benefited from the market, which draws thousands of visitors.

A number participated in a petition drive to keep the market on River Street.

The market got its start more than 15 years ago along the river, at a parking lot south of Hedley Park Place, before moving to the city's Riverfront Park. It moved to River Street in 2012 when the park was renovated, a move that pleased many retailers, vendors and shoppers.

The River Street location was not without its critics.

Early on, some farmers grumbled about the difficulties of getting their trucks in and out of the area, while some stores beyond the market complained about the loss of parking and vehicle access, and the lack of customer spinoff they saw.

At least one even said that the market made the streets too crowded in front of the shops, a complaint that might have seemed farfetched just a few years ago.

The market managed to resolve most of those complaints, opening up space in front of the stores and moving some vendors farther south along River Street.

It also has been growing. The total of vendors on a Saturday is many as 85.

Construction is expected to start sometime this summer on 1 Monument Square, a mixed-use riverfront development on the site of Troy's former City Hall.

When complete, it will include space for the farmers market.

In warmer months, vendors will still spill out onto the street as well as into the Riverfront Park.

"Our new site will be the best of both worlds," Jacobs said. "It will connect the street and the park."

eanderson@timesunion.com • 518-454-5323