Expansion Communication Working Group
Who are the members of the Working Group? How can I get more information?
Working Group members are Margaret Cooley (board president), Jeanne Douillard (member-owner), Tammy Erickson (board member), Judith Roberts (communication consultant to FCC), Caitlin von Schmidt (FCC outreach and communications manager), and John Williams (general manager). They are committed to answering your questions and providing regular updates to members and to the community more broadly.
To ask a question or suggest a topic you’d like to see covered, please contact the Working Group at ECWG@franklincommunity.coop.
Architectural Plans
What are some of the highlights of the plans for the new store?
The new store is designed to have all sales on the ground floor. From the parking lot, customers will enter into a spacious produce section, highlighting locally grown fruits and vegetables. The main body of the store will include a liquor section featuring wines, craft beers, and locally sourced spirits, a full-service butcher, a showcase of cheeses, and an expanded array of staples. Our popular prepared foods department, which will be located near the Main Street entrance, will add a salad bar, pizza, and sushi, to the classic bakery case and sandwich deli. The Health and Wellness section, along with a carefully curated selection of home goods will also be near Main Street.
Overall, the new space will have triple the sales floor space of our current store, supporting the broader array of products, as well as the long-sought-after wider aisles. Back of the house space, that is the work space available for day-to-day operations, will be quadrupled, greatly enhancing the working conditions and safety of our staff.
Forming an “L,” two areas vital to our values will extend along Main Street: a welcoming “meet, greet, and eat” area, inviting all to sit and relax together, as well as a community room and associated teaching kitchen. Both areas will be ADA-accessible. The cozy, informal eating area will be double in size to what we currently have on both floors of the current store. The community room, which will be used for cooking demonstrations and other FCC-sponsored events and will be available to local groups for their own meetings, will be roughly three times the current space. The community room will be accessible from the street and therefore able to be used after store hours and will have direct access to the teaching kitchen and to the larger in-store kitchen, allowing catered events.
The main floor design maintains nostalgic elements of the old building, including the tin ceiling in the main room and the terrazzo flooring throughout.
Offices for FCC staff will be located on the second floor. The basement will be available for extensive storage, allowing us to buy in larger quantities than our current facility accommodates.
Parking
Will there be convenient parking available?
Both former Greenfield Mayor Roxann Wedegartner and current Mayor Virginia “Ginny” Desorgher have expressed strong support for using the Chapman-Davis city lot for parking for the new store. In addition, half of the spaces in the existing Wilson’s lot, with access to Chapman-Davis, will be allocated to the Market. The old Wilson’s employee lot will be dedicated to staff parking.
Engineering Challenges
The engineering plan seems to have taken significant effort to develop; why?
The engineering plans for the remodeled space had to address a number of complications. The building is actually four structures built at different times, some with different floor elevations, unique electrical systems and other mechanics. Integrating these into an attractive, modern space while maintaining historical characteristics has proven to be very challenging, particularly given some of the upgrades needed to ensure the structural integrity of the building as well as the facade. In addition, the plans have been designed so as to allow as much independence as possible between utilities serving the housing levels above (owned by The Community Builders) and those in the FCC space.
Liquor License
What does the liquor license allow?
The license, which was formally granted in September 2024, allows Green Fields Market to sell beer, wine, and spirits. The intention is to focus on a full selection of beer, wine, and locally crafted spirits.
Financial Viability
Is the planned expansion financially viable?
Given assumptions about funding sources noted below, the planned expansion is financially viable. A financial proforma (a 10-year projection of likely revenue and expenses) developed by retail experts at National Cooperative Groceries (NCG) working with FCC leadership, showed that even highly conservative estimates for anticipated revenue should cover the financial demands of this project.
It’s important when considering the financial outlook for the expansion to keep in mind that we are not a conventional, for-profit commercial enterprise. For-profit corporations are structured to seek the greatest possible return on financial investment. Their leaders ask “is this the best possible investment?”
We represent an alternative economic model, driven by our values. We are committed to an enterprise that strengthens the community. We aim to welcome all and to support the local food system. We invest in giving back to the community. Thus, the question is not “is this the optimum financial return possible,” but rather “is this a feasible way to further our commitment.” The answer is a resounding “yes.”
Funding Sources
How will we fund this?
We anticipate funding the expansion through a variety of sources, including donations and grants from foundations, tax credits, and loans. Member loans, as well as capital built up in the business over the years, provide an important foundation. Our assumption that some of the additional funding required will come in the form of grants and donations is key to the project’s financial viability.
A second critical assumption is that our ability to attract funding will be greatly aided by Historic Tax Credits and by the New Markets Tax Credit (NMTC) Program, run by the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Community Development Financial Institutions Fund. The NMTC is specifically designed to help economically distressed communities attract private capital by providing investors with a federal tax credit. Investments made through the NMTC Program have the goal of financing businesses that will breathe new life into underserved low-income communities.
In financial language, the sources used to fund a real estate development such as ours are referred to as a capital stack. A capital stack shows all the sources of funding used for a real estate development, ranked from the highest risk/return to the lowest. This tool helps individual investors or donors understand their position relative to others. In our case, we anticipate that our capital stack will include member loans, primary and secondary loans from financial institutions, tax credits, grants, and donations.
Member Loans
Does the project delay affect the timing of the member loans?
No, the timeline for the member loans remains as originally expressed; the first interest payments were made on October 1. The principle from the member loans will not be spent until the project is given formal “go ahead’ approval.
Wider Support
Do we have support for this venture?
We are developing relationships with other potential funders and with politicians whose support will be helpful in obtaining the money required. Many local, state, and federal representatives and other officials have participated in tours of the building and expressed their excitement for the project.
Consultants Engaged in the Project
Who is helping us?
We have assembled a highly skilled team to accomplish these expansion goals. Team members include current managers, board members, National Co+op Grocers Development Group staff, architect Thomas Douglas, and general contractors Wright Builders, all working in cooperation with our project partners, Mass Development and The Community Builders, Inc.
In addition, Judith Roberts, a marketing and fundraising consultant who has an outstanding array of networking contacts from her time as the former head of the local Literacy Project, is serving as a communication consultant for the project.
Tours of the Building
Are tours of the building available to members?
Unfortunately, not at this time. Because we do not currently own the property and, as noted earlier, parts of it are hazardous (uneven flooring, no lighting, and so on), we are not able to offer tours.
Housing Development
From The Community Builders:
“The Community Builders is thrilled to partner with the Franklin Community Co-Op on the Wilson’s Block Redevelopment with our housing project, The Putnam. The Putnam will build a vibrant and green mixed-use community as a complement to a new Green Fields Market. With new affordable rental homes for low- and moderate-income households in both the existing building and a new-construction building on site, the redevelopment of this anchor building will revitalize a key landmark on Main Street in Greenfield, introduce new, energy-efficient, affordable units downtown, bringing vibrancy to the heart of Franklin County. Both adaptive re-use of the historic department store building and the new construction building are designed to Passive House standards. The two buildings will total 61 units ranging from studios to 3-bedrooms, all of which will be affordable units restricted from ELI to 80% AMI. As of fall 2024 The Putnam has secured all needed funding awards to proceed and is expected to close and commence construction in 2025 and complete in 2027.
“The Community Builders’ mission is to build and sustain strong communities where all people can thrive. Our mission-driven businesses work with partners to develop, finance, and operate residential communities, neighborhood amenities, and opportunity programs for families, seniors, and adults with disabilities. Since 1964, we have advanced housing equity through award-winning affordable and mixed-income communities and our pioneering Community Life model for resident success. Today, our ownership and management portfolio include over 14,000 apartment homes. With a locally based Western Mass office and development team, we are anchored by offices in Boston, Chicago, Columbus, New York, and Washington D.C., we operate across 15 states.”
Timing
What is the projected time for opening?
While many dimensions of the project are taking shape, the timing of when we can move forward remains unknown. Because the timing is uncertain, we are not yet in the position to make a formal go/no-go decision.
Negotiations with the Tenant
Can FCC influence the negotiations with the current tenant?
Not directly. Negotiations are being handled exclusively by The Massachusetts Development Finance Agency (MassDevelopment), as the current owner of the space. Our agreement with MassDevelopment calls for them to deliver our portion of the building unencumbered by tenants.
We are in active dialogue with MassDevelopment and are very supportive of finding a solution that works for all parties.
Options for Construction
Are there any options to begin construction before the tenant issue is resolved?
In close consultation with our architect and engineers, we have evaluated a number of ideas for beginning construction in a portion of the building prior to having access to the entirety of our planned space. Unfortunately, due to the nature of the structural changes required and fact that the core of the electrical and heating systems run through the space currently occupied by the tenant, there is no approach to beginning construction in one part of the space that would not require a ‘do over’ of expensive systems later in the process.
Current Facility
What will happen to the current store?
We are in discussions with a non-profit food pantry about that organization taking over the space at 144 Main St. after our move. We are waiting to receive a Letter of Intent or Memorandum of Understanding to confirm interest. Other parties also continue to show interest and inquiry in our current location.