Emergency services were called to market around 6pm in the evening but were unable to save the building or the the neighbouring Fit4Less gym.
The market had closed in December 2016 but was set to re-open as a base for the charity Tayside Furniture Re-Use Network, which refurbished unwanted furniture.
A spokesman for Police Scotland’s Tayside Division said: “Police Scotland can confirm that a 19-year-old man has been charged in connection with a fire at the Indoor Market, Main Street, Dundee on Wednesday September 12.
“He will be reported to the Procurator Fiscal.”
The fire was the third major blaze to hit Dundee in three successive nights.
Two days earlier several farm animals died in a fire near Strathmartine.
Then Braeview Academy was badly damaged by a fire the following evening.
A 15 -year-old boy was charged in connection with the school fire.
