The Main Street Market, a bustling weekday lunch location and Saturday morning hotspot during the Red Stick Farmers Market, is being renovated to better serve its weekly stampede of visitors.

The makeover, tag-teamed by Commercial Design Interiors and a trio of University interior design students, will be funded by the Big River Economic and Agricultural Development Alliance, the organization that manages the Main Street Market, and the Louisiana Office of State Buildings.

Matthew Edmonds, co-owner of Commercial Design Interiors with his partner Tracy Burns, said the renovation began when the Louisiana Office of State Buildings approached Commercial Design Interiors with the job.

The company accepted, but Edmonds and Burns, both being interior design professionals-in-residence at the University, asked if three student interns could assist with the project.

Logan Wheeler, Sarah Allee-Walsh and Madeleine Rappold were chosen as interns and worked on the undertaking for 40 hours per week, Edmonds said.

Edmonds said the interns were allotted much of the responsibility in designing the new floor plan, conducting on-site analysis and precedent research, developing various design ideas and presenting them to clients.

“We really let the students have a lot of the decision-making in this,” Edmonds said. “One of the things that the students identified through site analysis is what’s working well and what’s not working well.”

Functionality and aesthetics were the two main aspects considered when redesigning the market, Allee-Walsh said. Incorporation of local culture was also important, she said.

“We started this whole process off by making multiple visits to the Main Street Market and studying the space,” Wheeler said.

The students observed lengthy lines blocking different areas of the market, which obstructed circulation of foot traffic. Additionally, retail space was occupying too much square footage and blocking “great views” through store windows, Edmonds said.

The solution was to better utilize the retail area while recapturing the market’s natural lighting and allowing people to easily maneuver, Edmonds said.

“We really wanted to have a vibrant, thriving, sustainable marketplace for all of Louisiana’s farmers,” Allee-Walsh said.

From an aesthetics standpoint, the rehabilitated market will include farmer’s cart-styled kiosks rather than the current “batting cage” stalls. Historical images of Baton Rouge will be incorporated and new ceiling elements will capture the market’s natural lighting and acoustics and provide the illusion of the sky. The facade of the market will also be spruced up.

The interns drew inspiration from the Mississippi River when designing the new layout, and their muse was a 19th century Mississippi River navigation map, which will be enlarged and pasted on the floor.

“You can literally pinpoint New Orleans, Baton Rouge, anything on the river,” Allee-Walsh said.

The total cost and start date for the renovation have not yet been determined.