A not-for-profit organization could soon oversee the Byward Market as the city tries to bring the historic shopping district back to its glory days.

"What we've learned is the old model of running it from city bylaw doesn't work," Rideau-Vanier Coun. Mathieu Fleury said. "It's to no one's fault on the ground. It's to the processes we have given them."

Fleury said a new arms-length board managing the market would be a "mean machine" tasked with renewing the market district.

The market, one of Ottawa's top tourist attractions, will be under the microscope again when the city releases a draft report in the coming weeks.

The viability of the market is one of the city's never-ending stories that has consumed thousands of dollars in studies.

The most recent research had a $80,000 budget and is expected to result in recommendations on governance. Staff were also tasked with figuring out how to pay for long-term improvements to the market.

The study uses as a springboard a 2013 analysis by Project for Public Spaces, which observed that the market "is becoming a parody of its original self and is losing local support." PPS criticized the market for its emphasis on bars and restaurants and lack of fresh food vendors.

Fleury said change starts with a new management structure. The market is largely run out of the city's emergency and protective services department. The oversight is essentially a function of bylaw.

Standholders, businesses and residents would likely play a role in a new oversight setup.

Part of the challenge will be making the market relevant to residents, not just tourists.

"The competition is present now with Lansdowne opening, and it's good competition," Fleury said.

Another focus will be on the central market building, run by a property management group for the city. Fleury said the building needs to be a bona fide extension of the outdoor market.

"For us it's not about making money out of that building. That's a bonus. It's about the vision of a farmer's market," Fleury said.

Fleury ballparks the long-term financial requirement at $50 million with roughly $10 million in investments needed before 2017, a key year for Ottawa tourism because it's Canada's 150th birthday.

The plan will be subject to public comment and ultimately a council vote.

"I'll need council's support on this," Fleury said. "It's important to get it because it's not just a Rideau-Vanier asset, it's a city one."

Twitter: @JonathanWilling

Snapshot: Byward Market refresh