Come spring of 2020, the burgeoning Southside Bethlehem arts and entertainment district is slated to add a big new attraction: a food market.

The Riverport Market, 17 W. 2nd St., is expected to feature 35 vendors, a demonstration kitchen, brew tasting room and an anchor restaurant, transforming the long-vacant Starters Riverport bar and eatery into a foodie paradise, according to an announcement from property owner Ashley Development Corp.

The project got a major boost last week when it won a $750,000 Redevelopment Assistance Capital Program grant, which will be used for construction. The market is estimated to cost $3 million, according to the RACP grant application filed with the state.

“This magnificent building, once a finishing mill for Bethlehem Steel, boasts 24,000 square feet of open concept space,” a news release states. “The market will have a clean, urban, industrial vibe.”

Riverport Market will be a culinary destination offering daily culture, music, art and food-related events. The market intends to operate seven days a week -- 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday to Saturday and 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sundays -- with later hours planned for the anchor eatery and brew tasting room.

“Our mission at Riverport Market is to support healthy choices provided by local merchants and local organic farmers, growing community through local partnerships,” the news release states. “Our vision is to support and stimulate the local economy while encouraging environmental sustainability, bringing good eats to our ever-growing Lehigh Valley.”

Bethlehem is finally getting in on the Lehigh Valley’s fresh market scene in a big way -- the Easton Public Market’s been a major boon for Easton and Allentown has its own in the works.

The city is excited the market offers small vendors a new incubation space in the city -- something Bethlehem’s historically done well at the Banana Facotry, Ben Franklin, Pi and more recently The Factory, said Alicia Miller Karner, Bethlehem’s director of community and economic development. And it should bring new fresh, food options to both downtowns, she said.

“It fits perfectly in with what the Southside’s about. It is cool, it’s funky, it’s hip, it is in a cool industrial building,” Karner said. “It doesn’t get more Southside than that.”

The market complements ArtsQuest’s plans to renovate and expand the Banana Factory, which sits across the street, into an arts and cultural center, better linking it to the ArtsQuest Center at SteelStacks.

Developer Lou Pektor and his team are working with Mohawk Contracting and Development on the project. A local architect will soon be announced.

Riverport Market is seeking vendors and sponsors. Vendor and merchant spaces will range from 120 to 500 square feet with a “diversified culinary concept, a large anchor restaurant, and brew tasting room inhabiting the space.”

The space has sat empty since Starters Riverport closed its doors in February 2013. Lehigh Riverport was heralded as a major economic development project when it opened in 2006 in a former Bethlehem Steel building. The $30 million complex also includes 130 condominiums and the Steel Fitness gym.

Sara K. Satullo may be reached at ssatullo@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow her on Twitter @sarasatullo and Facebook. Find lehighvalleylive.com on Facebook.