On three Sundays this fall, the Mountain View Farmers' Market leaves the Caltrain station lot at 600 W. Evelyn Ave. and sets up across the street on Hope Street. It runs the same hours, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., at Lots 4 and 8, 190 Hope St. This is a different backup from the one longtime shoppers know. The old game-day site, Lot 12 across from City Hall, is now a construction site. Hope Street already has a signed deal for a hotel and an office building.
Downtown Mountain View is turning its surface parking into housing, a hotel and offices. The farmers market has been borrowing those lots on game days, and each time one gets built on, the market has to move again.
The Three Sundays
The California Farmers' Markets Association, which runs the market, has posted three relocation dates for the rest of 2026. They line up with the 49ers' Sunday home games on the team's official schedule.
| Sunday | 49ers home game | Kickoff | Market location, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nov. 8 | Las Vegas Raiders | 1:05 p.m. PT | Hope Street Lots 4 & 8 |
| Nov. 29 | Seattle Seahawks | 1:25 p.m. PT | Hope Street Lots 4 & 8 |
| Dec. 13 | Los Angeles Rams | 1:25 p.m. PT | Hope Street Lots 4 & 8 |
Hope Street runs between Villa Street and West Evelyn Avenue, and the two lots face each other across it, a short walk from the usual stalls. The market closes at 1 p.m., which is 5 to 25 minutes before kickoff on each of the three Sundays.
Why a Santa Clara Game Moves a Mountain View Market
The market association puts it plainly: on 49ers home Sundays, the market moves so the Caltrain lot can be used for public parking. The reason that lot matters is the transfer at the Mountain View Transit Center. VTA's Orange Line meets Caltrain there and runs to Levi's Stadium. Caltrain's own Levi's page tells riders to get off at Mountain View, walk to the VTA platform and take the Orange Line toward Alum Rock to the Great America stop.
That puts downtown Mountain View in the path of everyone who drives partway and rides the rest. Ahead of the September home opener, the Metropolitan Transportation Commission's blog said weekend Caltrain runs every 30 minutes to Mountain View for the VTA connection. It also warned that parking at the station is limited and costs $5.50 a day. VTA's 2026 event calendar shows special service for all three remaining Sunday games, and VTA says detailed schedules usually go up at least five days before each event.
This isn't new. In August 2014, the stadium's first season, the Mountain View Voice counted 3,310 stadium-bound passengers boarding VTA at Mountain View on a game day, about 1,500 of them transferring from Caltrain. The city was running a paid downtown-lot program at the time so downtown wouldn't become free stadium parking. Twelve years later, the lots near the station are getting built on.
The First Backup Is Now a Construction Site
For years the market's game-day home was Lot 12, across from City Hall. Moving there freed the transit-center lot for light-rail riders. The Mountain View Voice reported in December 2025 that Lot 12 would close for good in January 2026 to make way for a five-story affordable apartment building.
Corso, at 444 Bryant St., is a 120-unit affordable development from Alta Housing and Related California. According to the Voice's May 2026 coverage, it technically broke ground in March, held a public groundbreaking on May 27 and is on track to open to residents in early 2028.
When Lot 12 dropped out, the city had a deadline to meet. With the Super Bowl coming to Levi's Stadium in February 2026, it picked Hope Street Lots 4 and 8 as the new fallback. The arrangement the City Council voted on in December was narrow. The lots would close to cars from 7:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. on no more than four Sundays between Jan. 5 and Feb. 8, covering possible 49ers playoff games and Super Bowl Sunday. The market association would pay the city $430 per event and handle setup, including "no parking" signs.
The same council report flagged the catch. Using Lots 4 and 8 for the market might not be possible after 2026, because both lots were already promised to a developer.
The Current Backup Has a Hotel Deal
In 2016, the city chose RGC Mountain View, a commercial real estate company, to develop Lot 4 into a hotel and Lot 8 into an office building with ground-floor retail. Permits were approved in 2018. Then the project stalled. The Voice reported in April 2026 that Assistant City Manager Dawn Cameron told the council the pandemic's hit to the hotel industry, along with construction loan costs, made building infeasible.
On March 24, 2026, the City Council voted unanimously to let staff sign an amended lease and development agreement with RGC. The detailed project plans will come back for approval later. Under the new terms, the five-story hotel goes up first on Lot 4. The four-story office building on Lot 8 comes after it, where the original plan built both at once. The city staff report gives the hotel an opening window of mid-2029 at the earliest and spring 2031 at the latest. RGC must file an office permit application by mid-2029, or the agreement can be terminated.
Council members said they wanted it to move quickly. As the Voice reported, Council member Pat Showalter put it this way:
"The economics of hotels are very difficult. Currently, this developer thinks that the economics are a 'go' so we need to take advantage of that now while we have this opportunity."
Cameron told the council the hotel could bring the city more than $433.6 million over a 55-year period, which she called a conservative estimate. She also pointed to more foot traffic for downtown restaurants and shops.
For market shoppers, this means Hope Street works as long as the lots stay empty. If the RGC project goes ahead, the December 2025 council report said, the city will need to find other temporary sites for the market. That report did not name one.
The City Is Moving Markets Onto the Street
While the parking lots get built on, the city is putting new market activity on Castro Street itself. The Makers Market, a pilot that started in September, sets up on the 300 block of the pedestrian mall. Its next date is Friday, Nov. 20, from 3 to 8 p.m. The Voice's June preview listed a final pilot date of Dec. 18.
The city picked the 300 block because it has more room for programming than the other blocks, where restaurants have spread outdoor dining into the street. Booths are free. Amanda Rotella, the city's economic vitality manager, told the Voice the goal is a "low-barrier opportunity for those 'micro-preneurs' and artists" and "street-level activation in our downtown." The city first aimed for about 30 vendors. Its Makers Market page now lists more than 50 for the fall series, and says more than half are new to the market scene. Vendors park in Lots 3 and 6 and walk to Castro Street through the pedestrian passageways.
Put the city's own calendar next to the market dates, and the next few weeks downtown look like this:
- Saturday, Nov. 7. Día de Muertos at Civic Center Plaza, 500 Castro St., with ofrendas and altars made by community members.
- Sunday, Nov. 8. Farmers market on Hope Street; Raiders kick off at 1:05 p.m.
- Friday, Nov. 20. Makers Market, 300 block of Castro, 3 to 8 p.m.
- Saturday, Nov. 21. Holiday Bazaar at the Senior Center, 266 Escuela Ave., 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. All vendors are 55 or older, and the bazaar is open to all ages.
- Sunday, Nov. 29. Farmers market on Hope Street; Seahawks kick off at 1:25 p.m.
- Monday, Dec. 7. Holiday tree lighting at Civic Center Plaza, 5:30 to 8 p.m.
- Sunday, Dec. 13. Farmers market on Hope Street; Rams kick off at 1:25 p.m.
On every other Sunday, the market stays at the Caltrain lot at 600 W. Evelyn Ave. from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. On the three game days this fall, it sets up on Hope Street.
Corso on Bryant Street and the hotel planned for Hope Street will change the blocks around the transit center well before either one opens. If you live downtown or own near Evelyn, Villa or Bryant and want to know how these projects could affect your home's value, The Doran Team can walk you through it block by block.
