June 1, 2014

Branching Out

By June 30, we anticipate the closing on the purchase of 1.4 acres of land at 4426 Grand Avenue, the future site of our second location: WFC Denfeld! Since the beginning of 2014 we’ve been in in a hive of due diligence on this project including:

• Confirming feasibility— the site-specific market study noted ta high potential for success at this location with improved access for Owners and customers residing in West End communities and for those coming from Superior, Cloquet, Proctor, Wrenshall, Hermantown, etc.
• Negotiating the purchase, ordering environmental assessment (yup, it is a registered brown field) and investigating the routing of an un-named creek culvert under Grand Avenue (yipes).
• Meeting with Owners to discuss site criteria, options for Owner Financing Programs, and, once the site was announced, design possibilities and limitations for the Denfeld site.
• Launching the Owner Financing Program with a mailing to all Owners in March, a ridiculous number of which were returned not because Owners moved but because mail could not be delivered due to snow, snow and then more snow…
• And selecting architects, LHB Architects & Engineers, and a general contractor, Johnson Wilson Constructors, and contracting for store design, equipment selection, and operating systems with the National Cooperative Grocers Development Cooperative.

—Sharon Murphy, General Manager