Negotiations underway for Willimantic Food Co-op

Michelle Warren, The Chronicle, Willimantic, Conn.
·2 min read

Nov. 22—WILLIMANTIC — Negotiations are currently underway regarding a possible lease arrangement between the town and the Willimantic Food Co-op.

During the Nov. 15 town council meeting, Windham Town Manager Jim Rivers said after the agreement goes to the co-op's board of directors, it will come before the town council for their approval.

The property, which is at 87 Church St., includes a parking lot that is adjacent to the senior/ community center. It is across the street from the store, which is at 91 Valley St.

" We were looking for more spaces for parking and they have a nice property there," Rivers said, referring to the Church Street property.

He said more parking spaces would be useful when there is an event at Jillson Square.

As part of the agreement, the town plans to maintain the parking lot at 87 Church St., including plowing it during the winter.

The town will allow co-op employees to continue to use the parking lot.

" We would create a greenway continuing on what's in front of the community center, with trees all the way down the corner towards the Harp (restaurant), and maintain the parking lot in the winter," Rivers said.

Willimantic Food Co-op General Manager Alice Rubin said Monday morning that a lawyer is reviewing the proposed agreement.

" No decision has been made yet," she said.

Rubin said the co- op's board of directors may not review a proposed lease until the beginning of 2023. According to the town property records, the co-op purchased the property on Jan. 24, 2017 for $299,000. There were plans to build a new co-op store on the property.

However, Rubin said various factors stopped them from moving forward, including the pandemic, the community center being built and the need for more parking.

The understanding is that the town would lease the Church Street property from the co-op for $1 a year. The town plans to use the building next to the community center, which has a stage painted on the outside, to store snow removal equipment and other equipment, noting that the community center doesn't have storage for those things.

"We will fix it up, make sure the roof is not leaking or anything like that," Rivers said, referring to the storage building.

Under the agreement, the co- op will also use that building for storage.

Rivers said there is an older building on the corner that the co-op had no "immediate plans" for. Plans involve demolishing that building, which has carrots painted on the outside.

"The building is in really bad shape," Rivers said.

He said the building is blighted and he was hopeful it would be demolished "sooner rather than later."

Follow Michelle Warren on Twitter — @mwarrentc.