Keweenaw Co-op Expansion and Relocation
About the project
The Keweenaw Co-op started in 1973 as a pre-order bulk-buying club to provide the community with natural and organic foods that were otherwise not available. The Co-op started with an all-volunteer staff in a backroom of a café in downtown Houghton, Michigan. In 1986, after moving two times, the Co-op significantly increased its product line, was able to support paid staff, and moved to its current location where it opened a “full-line grocery store”.
Keweenaw Co-op is located in Hancock, MI in Michigan's Upper Peninsula.
LISC provided $5.30 million funded in part with LISC CDFI Fund Healthy Food Financing Resources to Keweenaw Food Co-op to support its relocation and expansion to a new storefront in Hancock, Michigan. The Co-op's current location is a small storefront with only 4,300 sq. ft. of retail space and nine parking spaces. The Co-op will relocate to a former car dealership, reactivated a functionally obsolete building and providing a draw to downtown Hancock.
Partner:
Keweenaw Cooperative Inc.
Location:
Hancock, MI
Total Investment:
$5.30 million
Results:
14,202 sq. ft. commercial space
11 jobs created or preserved
Project Category:
Food Security;
Employment Generation
Product:
Construction loan
Bridge loan
Equipment loan
Website:
UN SDGs:
