Honest Weight Food Co-op announces funding for new location

From the press release:

The Honest Weight Food Cooperative, Inc. (HWFC) announced today that it has sealed a deal with M&T Bank for the primary funding for its $5.4 million construction project. Subordinate lenders include Community Loan Fund of the Capital Region, the Cooperative Fund of New England, and the Al Tech Loan Fund, administered by the Albany County Business Development Corporation, for combined additional funding totaling $1.45 million.

Awesome news for my favorite place to procure vegetables. I’m excited to shop at the new store and can’t wait for the move to be finished. Hopefully the new facility will quell the parking lot anxiety of those apt to head over to the new Trader Joe’s or Whole Foods instead.

Hit the jump for the full press release.

For immediate release
June 13, 2012

Contact: Duke Bouchard, CFO, 518-482-2667 x 107, duke@honestweight.coop; Lexa Juhre, Project Manager, 482-2667 x 101, lexa@honestweight.coop; Lily Bartels, Communications Manager, 482-2667 x116, lily@honestweight.coop; Sarah Halliday, VP, M&T Bank, 518-464-6143

Honest Weight announces funding for new store project

ALBANY, NY – The Honest Weight Food Cooperative, Inc. (HWFC) announced today that it has sealed a deal with M&T Bank for the primary funding for its $5.4 million construction project. Subordinate lenders include Community Loan Fund of the Capital Region, the Cooperative Fund of New England, and the Al Tech Loan Fund, administered by the Albany County Business Development Corporation, for combined additional funding totaling $1.45 million.

“A strong local business with the track record that Honest Weight has is just the kind of investment we rely upon to make a positive impact in the community, said Sarah Halliday, vice president for M&T. The regional bank holds first position with the loans. “With so many good partners, said Duke Bouchard, Honest Weight CFO, “once everyone was on board, the deal went very smoothly. We are poised to get to work immediately and expect a soft opening in the spring of 2013.

The co-op has amassed close to $2 million in retained earnings in preparation for this project while seeking the primary lender. In addition, its Owner Loan Program has raised more than $1.1 million in shareholder investment.

Honest Weight has been working with Envision Architects and Sano-Rubin Construction in a design-build scenario for the planned 30,000+/- square foot building, which will feature community space, a teaching kitchen, a larger cafÃ©, ample parking, and 18,000 square feet of retail space. HWFC’s commitment to natural food, sustainability and environmental awareness will be evident in the design and use of the space.

Founded in Albany in 1976 by a group of 20 members as a monthly “buying club, the Honest Weight Food Co-op originally operated out of the basement of Sharon and Gary Goldberg’s Elm Street home. Within a year, success led to the club’s incorporating, adopting a new organizational structure, and relocating to a larger space at 112 Quail Street, where the business opened to the public; the company purchased that building in 1982.

By 1987, the Co-op’s members had voted to search for a larger space to accommodate an ever-expanding business. Honest Weight has occupied its current location at 484 Central Avenue since 1995, expanding their footprint four times in 15 years. In 2006, the membership focused its efforts on finding a suitable site within the City limits to be the co-op’s permanent home.
The new site at 100 Watervliet Avenue in Albany’s West End neighborhood will offer nearly twice the retail space of the current store, as well as improved traffic flow and parking. Honest Weight has secured municipal approvals, and construction is anticipated to begin mid-June.