Fair Says Demo/Rebuild of German-Czech Mart Will be Done in Time
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Fayette County Fair Association President Michael Zuhn (standing) spoke to the La Grange City Council Monday night about plans to replace the old German-Czech Mart at the Fairgrounds. Photo by Andy Behlen
The La Grange City Council heard an update from the Fayette County Fair Association about their plans to replace the old German-Czech Mart at the Fairgrounds.
Fair Association President Michael Zuhn spoke at the City Council meeting Monday, Feb. 26. Zuhn said the Association is ready to demolish the old building.
“It was built in 1973, so if we can get 50 years out of the new building, we’ll be really happy,” Zuhn said.
Zuhn said Joe Rogers Construction offered to demolish the old building for free. Supak’s Building and Roofing will build the new food court, Zuhn said.
The new building will include booths for the three non-profit vendors that set up in the German-Czech Mart at the Fair every year: The La Grange Rotary hamburger booth, the Fayetteville Show Fund food booth and the La Grange Optimist Club drink stand.
“Everybody is going to have more space than they had before,” Zuhn said.
Zuhn said the Fair’s guest services booth will also move into an office inside the new building.
“We’re going to move it inside there to make it easy for everybody,” Zuhn said. “It’ll be a covered area so people don’t have to stand out in the sun or the rain.”
The guest services booth, where Fair attendees can purchase Fun Passes for food and drink tickets, was previously housed in a stand-alone building just to the east of the German-Czech Mart.
The new building will also feature an evaporation cooler and exhaust fan to improve air circulation.
“Cost-wise, we’re really close,” Zuhn said. “We’ve got everything bid except electrical and some drainage work.”
He said the new building and surrounding grounds will be elevated to provide a level walking surface to match the adjacent biergarten and dance floor.
“Our ultimate plan is to not have this just for the Fair,” Zuhn said. “In this City we can always use another place to hold events or fundraisers. This building could work pretty good for a drivethrough (meal) … There are a lot of non-profits in the County, but they don’t have facilities. We have facilities but we don’t always have manpower. Let’s partner up and do some of this.”
Fair Association Vice President Brandi Chovanec said construction should be complete by the middle of July if everything goes according to plan. The Fair takes place on Labor Day Weekend.