How and when will the Co-op use the grant money from NYS?

The $1.659 million in Downtown Revitalization Initiative funds from New York State will be used for certain expenses in the expansion project including design and construction costs. We cannot actually access DRI funds until the rest of the funding for the $4 million project is secured. We will be borrowing some of it from commercial lenders, some of it from our members, and seeking grants as well. The DRI funding is also “reimbursable” which means we have to spend it first, and then we get reimbursed.

What have the Round-Up Funds collected at the register been used for?

Round-Up funds collected at the register are used solely for expenses related to renovation and expansion work. There has been (and will continue to be) a lot of preliminary work regarding making the Co-op a larger, modernized and more inviting business and the money you’ve donated to the Round-Up fund has been critical to the process. Here are some previous uses of Round-Up funds:

• A real estate appraisal of 63 Market Street
• An evaluation of the 63 Market Street property that included; structural, electrical, HVAC, plumbing and roof by Tisdale Associates
• A “Limited Hazardous Materials Survey” (PCBs and asbestos) of 63 Market Street by Atlantic Testing Laboratories
• Financing application fees
• Architectural Drawings for application to NYS to reallocate DRI funding to 24 Elm St. project

In the near future we will use these funds for preliminary work on the new project. We will continue the Round Up requests until the new store opens.

What happened with the property on Market Street?

Ultimately, the Co-op and the property owner could not come to an agreement on the purchase price. There were some other barriers as well. There was more asbestos that needed to be remediated than we originally thought, and that would have been very expensive. Also, the property boundaries were in dispute, which would have eliminated about half of the parking spaces.

What about the Carriage House and the brick oven?

The Carriage House Bakery was built as a labor of love and a distinct addition to Co-op operations and offerings. The oven requires regular training, upkeep, and a great deal of labor to use, and the profitability of the enterprise has never been fully established. Although the new store will not use the Carriage House as part of its operations, it will be up to the membership to decide what to do with the building. We can keep it, and possibly rent it to another business to use the oven, or we can raze the building.

Will the Co-op close the current store when it comes time to rebuild?

When the time comes to close the store and build the new building, the general manager of the store will have some difficult decisions to make. Ideally, there will be an affordable place to rent where we can sell the basics including bulk and local products, and continue to run a small version of the Co-op to meet our members’ needs during the 8-12 months of construction.