Fresh Thyme Market has expanded its farmer’s market-style shopping experience to new communities across Michigan, Ohio, Nebraska, and Missouri, bringing fresh, healthy, and organic food options to growing markets.
Challenge
Each project presented unique opportunities and constraints, particularly in communities seeking to preserve their historic character. In Worthington, OH, the design needed to accommodate a modern grocery store while conforming to local planning ordinances that required new development to remain visually consistent with the surrounding downtown fabric.
Solution
We partnered with Insite Real Estate to provide design and engineering services for multiple Fresh Thyme Market expansion projects, including the Worthington location. There, our design responded to the historic streetscape by reversing the typical grocery store layout, placing the building along the sidewalk and positioning parking and the main customer entrance behind the site. Stone and red brick façades and stacked-pane windows reinforce the character of the surrounding streetscape, while low-energy LED lighting, rooftop HVAC, and an off-site energy management system support building performance.
Outcome
The completed marketplace integrates a contemporary grocery experience into a historic downtown setting while respecting the architectural character of the community. By adapting the Fresh Thyme prototype to local planning requirements, the project supports the brand’s continued expansion into new markets without compromising the identity of existing neighborhoods.
Low-energy LED lighting, rooftop HVAC systems, and an off-site energy management system support long-term operational performance.
Fresh Thyme Market is a natural food marketplace that offers fresh, healthy and organic foods in a farmer’s market-style shopping experience. NORR began working with our client, Insite Real Estate, in 2014 to provide design and engineering for multiple expansion projects to take the Fresh Thyme Market brand to new communities across multiple states including Michigan, Ohio, Nebraska and Missouri.
Each grocery project had unique challenges and opportunities in the built environment. The marketplace in Worthington, OH, had to conform with local planning ordinances that require the facade of new developments to be visually consistent with the fabric of the downtown, where the street is lined with many historic structures. For this reason, the design team flipped the functions of the modern grocery store experience within the boundaries of the project site. The new building was constructed directly alongside the sidewalk and local roadway. The expansive parking lot and shopper entrance were located behind the building and out of view. The view from the road frontage provides a traditional multi-story building with its stone and red brick facade. Additionally, the facade incorporates stacked paned windows and metal awnings, and gooseneck fixtures. The designed building systems feature low energy; high output LED fixtures, an off-site energy management system, and rooftop HVAC.
NORR’s Retail design team is skilled in integrating new developments within the landscape of older communities that seek to preserve their historic character. The project was delivered using a design-bid-build methodology from a preselected pool of contractors. The team collaborated and communicated with the developer, stakeholders and contractor throughout the lifecycle of the project. Additionally, the team provided onsite milestone site visits and a final punch list walk-through.
