Geoff Bosley sits at a table in the atrium of the Market at Liberty Place as comfortable as if he were in his own home. Perhaps it now is like his second home, since as part of father/son LGB Property team, he developed the building into the thriving market it is today. Geoff and his father, Larry, renovate historic properties and older buildings, often for commercial purposes. He likes to think of it as “breathing new life” into the old structures.
Born and raised in Kennett Square, Geoff and his father had their eye on the former Genesis Healthcare headquarters when it went up for sale in 2010. As it sat vacant, the father/son duo knew it was a key asset to town and the perfect way to extend the already growing main street of downtown Kennett. “It’s been neat to watch how Kennett has evolved,” remarks Geoff. Buying and renovating the historic building into an open-air market is the newest part of Kennett Square’s evolutionary history.
Kennett Square Dish recently had a chance to sit down with Geoff, amidst the the chatter and bustle of the market, to get the scoop on the history of Liberty Place and hopes for its future.
Kennett Square Dish: Tell us a little about the history of the building.
Geoff Bosley: We bought the building in 2010 when the Genesis Healthcare headquarters moved into the Franklin Center. It sat vacant for 3 years. We thought [this building] could help extend the main street west, and was a key to helping the town grow. The building was actually built out of a Liberty ship from World War II. It’s a pretty cool history behind it. All the steel, all the pillars in the building, came from the ship. After the war, our country had a lot of ships that they didn’t have anything to do with. So they were broken down and placed into buildings. I think there are three buildings in the country that were built from ships. Liberty Place began as a furniture store, then a department store, then Genesis Healthcare, and now The Market.
What was your initial vision for this project?
We had a firm plan for the top and bottom floors, which would be high-end offices. Then for the main floor we knew wanted to do something in the retail realm. We wanted to make it a gathering place for people in Kennett Square. A flagship building, if you will. A distinct building where people knew what was there, a place where they could just go.
Where did the inspiration for an open-air market come from?
I think I’d been a fan of [open-air markets], and attracted to them when traveling to different places. It’s a really cool concept. My dad and I didn’t put two and two together until Mary Hutchins (of Historic Kennett Square) encouraged us in 2012 to check out the Ardmore Farmer’s Market.
The three of us went to visit and we said, ‘Why don’t we see if this could work in Kennett Square?’ So the Ardmore Farmer’s Market was our initial model, as well as experiences from other similar markets I’ve seen around the country. We did our research to see what would work, what wouldn’t. An open-air market is what we have created here: a gathering of merchants that serve the community. It’s been quite an experience!
What do you see for the future of Liberty Place?
I still see us evolving. The grocery component, adding Terra Foods, has been great. We had the pop-up vendors over the holidays, which we are going start back up again. People seemed to enjoyed them because they created more of a shopping experience. Adding Punk’d Pineapple is a great addition, especially for kids. There’s still more room, and we’ve been very careful selecting our vendors, trying to do it in a way where we are adding them correctly.
We’ve started a lot of activities: community meetings, a lot of fundraiser events, music on Thursdays and Fridays, art classes. We are going to do trivia and bingo. We are going to do things with kids and the library. It’s a place where people want to be and it serves a lot of their daily needs. We’re open first thing in the morning so you can get your cup of coffee or juice all the way to getting your glass of wine in the evening. And there are a hundred things you can do here during the day. We’ve created the room downstairs for meetings and parties, which gives us the option for catering events. The public has told us what they like, so we want to make it a gathering place and see how it evolves!
Whether it’s grabbing a breakfast smoothie, a cheesesteak for lunch, or a paint bucket of wine for dinner, you can stop by the Market at Liberty Place at 148 West State Street, Kennett Square, PA. They are also on Facebook, Twitter and the Web.
