The final stage of the transfer of the Seaport Farmers' Market to the Halifax Port Authority is underway.

The City Market of Halifax Co-operative that's been running the market and the Port Authority have been negotiating a formal surrender of the lease since May. That's now been finalized, and the Port Authority will start to operate the market over the course of the next few weeks.

The Farmers' Market is millions of dollars in debt after the construction of its new building went way over budget. Members of the co-op voted in May and decided to surrender the lease to the Port Authority.

"The market is a well-loved feature of our city, and we want to see it thrive," said Paul MacIssac of the Port Authority in a release. "Once this transition is completed, we hope to put the market in a more stable situation."

The release from the Port Authority does not say what has happened to the co-op's $9 million debt.

For the time being, the market's current schedule will remain in place. The market is open every day except for Monday.

A year ago, a New York-based consultant suggested the market scale back and amend rules for vendors.