Established by a local non-profit development corporation, the 26,000 SF market was designed to provide a retail center for fresh and prepared foods with dining areas for a growing daytime population of office workers and shoppers as part of the on-going redevelopment of downtown Jamaica, Queens.  Community development within five years of its opening turned the market into an unofficial town center which it remains today.  The market has received recognition through numerous design awards and publications.  The 1998 AIA Honor Awards jury described the market as follows:

"Responding to the social act of place making, this market is a community force and a community resource...a beautifully executed civic space.  The Jamaica Market proves that such a huge urban design success must rely on a marriage of design, policy, and an involved community."