Builder to Appeal Ruling on Farmers Market Plan

The A.F. Gilmore Co. will appeal a city official’s ruling that would limit its proposed development at Farmers Market in the Fairfax District to 700,000 square feet, a spokesman for the firm said Wednesday.

The company and its partner, Chicago-based JMB Urban Investment & Development, are working on a counterproposal that they hope to present to the City Planning Commission at a hearing set for Dec. 6, said Gilmore attorney Allan J. Abshez.

The developers have yet to decide on the details, but they will seek a project somewhere between the 2 million square feet originally proposed and the smaller scale recommended by City Councilman John Ferraro and endorsed by Planning Department official John Parker on Tuesday, Abshez said. He said the firm will also try to restore hotel and office space to the project, which Parker said should be limited to shopping, cinemas and restaurants.