The public restrooms at Findlay Market are expected to remain closed for months as they undergo a renovation.
In the meantime, people visiting the market can use portable restrooms located in the market parking lot. The restrooms inside the main market building typically reserved for vendors will also be open to the public, and are accessible to people with physical disabilities.
The restroom refresh is part of a larger renovation project involving separate properties in the same building near the main market building.
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Eckerlin's Meats, which sits next to the public restrooms, has been renovating its building since June. It moved to a temporary location on Elm Street until the project is complete. A residential space located above is also receiving a renovation.
Kelly Lanser, a spokesperson from the Corporation for Findlay Market, says the two nearby spaces are receiving significant upgrades that would restrict access to the restrooms for a time, so the market decided to close the facility and work on upgrading it.
"We're finding that — especially on the second floor where more residential development is happening —people have not lived there for so long that they're missing important pieces like staircases to get upstairs," Lanser told WVXU.
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Lanser says closing the entire building will help accelerate the construction process. Despite the major renovation, the restrooms will stay in the same place but will have a different entrance once the work is done.
The restrooms will receive a complete overhaul, which includes new flooring, walls, toilets and sinks.
The total renovation project, which includes all three spaces, could take around 18 months to complete, but the restrooms are expected to open sooner.
