Potsdam has won $10 million in Downtown Revitalization Initiative funding and a committee of the Co-op Board spent January putting together a project proposal for some of that funding. The proposal is to act on our 2017 Market Study by expanding the store and greatly increasing our offerings. We proposed relocating to a larger commercial location at 63 Market St (the current Aubuchon Mall).

I’d like to take this opportunity to explain why we created a proposal, what our proposal entails, how we plan to pay for it when this would happen, and the current status of our proposal.

As costs rise for our store, we can only survive if sales keep pace. Our Market Study found that there is uncaptured sales potential in our market area. The Co-op has reached the limit on how much revenue can be earned at the current facility, which is small, has limited parking, and struggles with inefficiencies (ex. separate buildings, storage upstairs). In addition, our current facility is not ADA compliant. DRI funding would be a game-changer for the feasibility of an expansion/relocation project for us… so we gave it our best shot!

You can find out more details about the project and read the Co-op’s DRI proposal here:

Few the full Downtown Revitalization Initiative for more information: