Courtney Mabeus, The Examiner
2007-08-02 07:00:00.0
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WASHINGTON -

Eastern Market vendors displaced by an April fire will be able to relocate to a temporary building by Aug. 18, a little more than two weeks after Mayor Adrian Fenty’s original promised move-in date.

Construction on the exterior of the temporary building, which is across the street from the market in the Hine Junior High School playground, is complete, Fenty said.

Contractors will spend the next three weeks completing wiring, HVAC and refrigeration in the building’s interior.

Business is expected to begin inside the structure in time for a grand-opening celebration planned for Aug. 25.

The project, which was managed by Turner Construction, is expected to be completed on budget at $2.6 million, Fenty said.

But Fenty dodged questions about what caused his initial Wednesday completion date to be missed.

“As we stand here today, we don’t see any possible way it could have been done any faster,” Fenty said.

Reconstruction of the market’s South Hall, which was gutted by an early morning fire April 30, remains on track to reopen in early 2009, Fenty and city officials said.

Fenty said the cost for the renovation is expected to top $14 million, a price tag far less than the $30 million to $40 million estimate he had given in May.

Fenty said he didn’t know how the temporary structure would be used after the South Hall work is complete. The market’s South Hall did not have sprinklers when the blaze erupted.

The temporary building and the rebuilt market will have sprinklers, Fire Chief Dennis Rubin said. The fire’s cause was determined to have been electrical.

Some of the merchants, about half of whom have been operating on a full- or half-time basis on a sidewalk outside the South Hall, have expressed frustration with the city’s efforts to rebuild.

Business has crept to a halt during parts of the week despite an advertising blitz organized by a community foundation.

None of the merchants joined Fenty in his announcement and only one appeared to be working Wednesday.

Fenty stopped at the stand, run by the Calomiris family, to buy produce.