Thank You, Members - We Did It!
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Thanks to the devotion of our members, we have met the $450,000 member loans requirement to receive a $500,000 Community Development Block Grant. The CDBG funding received final approval from the Governor and Executive Council this week.
Raising the $450,000 in member loans was a critical piece of an intricate financing package that involves local banks and regional business development lenders, as well as our members.
Thanks to the more than 100 Co-op members who have pledged $450,500, we'll be able to begin construction of our regional food co-op next month!
Our initial member loans goal was $500,000, and we're still hoping to get there, so if you haven't made a loan to the Co-op yet, there's still the opportunity to do so. Reaching the $500,000 goal will strengthen our financial standing and allow a cushion for handling any unexpected expenses as we open our store.
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Construction to begin soon! |
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With our general contractor Daniel
Hebert set to being construction in August, our store should be open sometime
early next year!
Members may have already noticed
activity on our site at the corner of Route 302 and Cottage Street - the old house on the
property has been removed to make way for site work to begin.
A sketch of the store is on our
website - www.littletoncoop.org.
Our management committee has begun
a search for a general manager to oversee our store.
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A true community effort |
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Bringing our Co-op to fruition continues to be a true community effort, with members joining from all over the North Country and Northeast Kingdom and beyond, and local financial institutions coming on board as well.
Construction funding - $2.4 million total - will come from Connecticut River Bank, Laconia Savings Bank, Northway Bank, Union Bank and Woodsville Guaranty Savings Bank.
Business Enterprise Development Corporation (BEDCO), Grafton County Economic Development Council, Littleton Industrial Development Corporation and Northern Community Investment Corporation are providing $300,000 in subordinated funding for construction.
Equipment funding of $495,000 is coming from a consortium of banks, BEDCO, and the Cooperative Fund of New England.
Thanks to all of our members and our partners for working so hard to help bring a Co-op to our community!
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