Plans To Redo Boston's Iconic Market Stir Debate

The owners of Boston's historic Quincy Market are envisioning a major overhaul of the iconic complex of food vendors and retailers.

New York-based Ashkenazy Acquisition Corp. says its proposed multi-year project will "reimagine" one of the world's top tourist destinations for a new generation of visitors and create an "urban oasis" that would appeal to a growing number of downtown residents and companies.

The marketplace area's restoration in the 1970s became the model for pedestrian city centers across the nation, from New York's South Street Seaport to Baltimore's Inner Harbor. But after four decades, urban planners agree the "festival marketplace" concept it pioneered needs updating.

Some city officials are concerned the changes might be too drastic, and the market's familiar food vendors and pushcart operators say they face an uncertain future.