Potsdam Food Co-op will seek state approval on new DRI expansion plan

Andy Gardner, Watertown Daily Times, N.Y.
·2 min read

Feb. 9—POTSDAM — The Potsdam Food Co-op is in the process of resubmitting a project plan so it can keep a $1.6 million Downtown Revitalization Initiative award and use it to expand the current location, rather than moving to Market Street.

The village won the DRI award in 2019. It brought $10 million that's being used for business and community development projects. The co-op's award was to move to a new, expanded store at 63 Market St.

"We could not reach an agreement on a purchase price reflecting the condition of the building with the property owner of 63 Market Street, so we are currently working on a new plan — one that makes more financial sense," the co-op board wrote in a newsletter emailed Monday.

The DRI money is a reimbursement. They don't get paid until they spend money and build the project. The new plan is to add 6,500 square feet to the current 24 Elm St. store. In order to use the $1.6 million for that, the co-op has to resubmit project documentation to the New York State Office of Homes and Community Renewal to show that the new plans are a valid use for the money. That will include a new site plan and basic plan diagram, a 3D image that shows the basic style and a new construction estimate.

The co-op has until March 31 to submit the new documentation. There's no timeframe for the state to rule on the new project plans.

For the 63 Market St. project that fell through, the co-op has already spent $20,000 on an appraisal, building condition assessment, hazardous material evaluation, legal fees and other fees.

The co-op has a couple of new initiatives to raise funds for the expansion. Any customer can round up their bill at the register as a donation. They've also joined the National Co+op Grocers to leverage the collective bargaining power of a national group of co-op stores. That means they pay less for staple food items and household goods. That allows them to set aside more money toward the expansion while paying less, and charging less, for those items.