We write to you to express our sadness and disappointment in your current changes to the courtyard at El Mercado San Agustin. We are parents and children and members of the Tucson community. We have been among your biggest supporters up to this point.

Since the El Mercado began, the open courtyard has served as a communal gathering place, pulsing with beauty, playfulness, and community. It’s a testament to the original design and intention of the place, that so many of us have been drawn there. We have met new and old friends there, built community with one another as we sat on the steps and watched our children dance and play together in the open communal space that welcomed them.

Your current changes take away the shared, open space at the heart of the Mercado. We grieve as we watch a former beloved community space being paved over with concrete and crowded with more tables and chairs.

We liked coming here. This was a special place to our children. But your recent “improvements” change all that. So we won’t be coming as much, spending as much, enjoying this place as much. We’ll find other places where our children can be together and play and build the kind of community where we want to live.