Building Committee Update

Thanks to the combined efforts of our Building Committee and design team - including Lacey-Convertino Architects, Stephens Engineering, and the Store Development Services at United Natural Foods - a thorough set of design and construction drawings was completed in mid-July.

We proceeded into the contractor bidding process immediately in late-July, and it culminated last week with the Building Committee's review of six bid submissions. We were pleased with the strong response during our bid period, and are grateful to all participating contractors for their interest in our project.

J. Luk Construction Company of Schenectady delivered the lowest bid proposal, at $443,900. Eric Paul and I met with owner John Luke Hodorowski earlier this week to discuss the details of the project, and we feel that he understands the mission of the TCFC, and our overall vision for the renovations of the Pioneer Market very well. The Building Committee confidently recommended J. Luk Construction to be selected by the Board, and their bid was unanimously accepted. We are eager to add John and his company to our team!

You will begin seeing the signs of progress in the Pioneer Market over the next few months.
We are currently reviewing bids from asbestos abatement contractors, and anticipate that full remediation of the Pioneer Market will be completed by the end of September. Once our financing is approved, we will begin the three-month general construction period, followed by another month of store setup and staff training. Then the TCFC will open its doors to the public!

Update

The Board of Directors and the General Manager of Troy Community Food Cooperative (TCFC) are excited to communicate promising news regarding the financing and timeline of Troy’s future community owned, full-service grocery store, The Pioneer Market.

Financing
Opening TCFC is a $2.3 million project. The Board had initially negotiated the primary financing at 7% interest. In March, however, the Board entered into negotiation with another primary lender for a much better interest rate on the primary loan (under 3% for the first seven years), which the new lender is able to offer TCFC because they will receive New Market Tax Credits from the U.S. Government in exchange for making low interest loans to community projects. This new finance opportunity made the cash flow of the project viable in such a positive way that we felt it our responsibility to renegotiate with the new lender. This process has taken five months, and therefore, delayed our timeline. We anticipate hearing from the primary lender by the end of September to finalize the primary financing.

Time-line
Asbestos abatement of the Pioneer Market will be completed by the end of September. Once our financing is approved there will be a three month construction period followed by another month needed to set up the store and train the staff. Then TCFC will open its doors to member-owners and the public.

Grants and Fundraising
As we reported in June, we have raised over $200,000 in charitable grants. Included in this sum, in May TCFC was awarded a $25,000 grant from an anonymous local foundation, and this past month, the Howard & Bush Foundation exceeded our original expectation awarding TCFC a grant for $50,000. Not included in the $200,000 is a $50,000 grant application pending the final stages of approval with National Grid. We hope to have more good news in the near future as we continue to aggressively pursue grant opportunities. The Board and Management of TCFC are pleased and, moreover, extremely grateful for the continued outpouring of support for our community-owned project.

Owner-loans
Integral to our financing package are loans from our member-owners. In September TCFC will be kicking-off an exciting owner-loan campaign. Owner-loans are a common way for food cooperatives to raise money for start-up and expansion projects. These loans offer members-owners favorable interest rates that are low interest loans for TCFC paid back over a reasonable period of time. Loans from member-owners will give TCFC enough cash flow to operate the store. TCFC promises not to spend any owner-loan money before securing the primary financing. TCFC already has secured several owner-loans including a $25,000 loan from the same anonymous local foundation that awarded us the $25,000 grant. We will be contacting you with more information shortly.

You will hear reports soon updating you on building issues and regarding our ongoing new-member campaign. Please consider emailing all your local contacts and asking them to become shareholders. Please feel free to contact us for any further information. We are excited to bring this community project to you.

1st Annual Troy Food and Film Festival Was a Success!

Saturday, June 28 was hot and steamy, as only upstate New York can be late in June, but there were 300-500 families who came to hear great music, taste world-class local foods, and learn about access to food from organizations like the Commission of Economic Opportunity, Cornell Cooperative Extension, Food Pantries of the Capital District, and the Hunger Action Network. All of this took place in Troy’s urban green space, Barker Park.

Many thanks are due to our corporate sponsor, SEFCU, for their community-spirited support for this first TCFC family event that celebrated our many opportunities to eat seasonally, healthfully, pleasurably and locally. Our co-sponsors; Troy Cinema and Visual Arts Group and Friends of Barker Park are to be thanked for their help in this first effort.

The festival was opened by the newly-formed Enjoy Troy Brass Quintet, headed by Susan Radcliff; and great fiddle music by Stephen Iachetta. The spirited and innovative Bakerloo Players, in residence at RPI, performed a piece entitled “What We Talk About When We Talk About Food.”

Chef Larry Schepici of Tosca Grille and Chef Jackie Baldwin, Director of Food Services at RPI demonstrated their talents under the tent to audiences that included kids. Maybe some budding chefs?

Laudelina Martinez and volunteers from the Troy Cinema and Visual Arts Group organized the showing of a well-reviewed documentary, “The Real Dirt on Farmer John” and four original food-related videos were presented at the Arts Center of the Capital Region on Saturday evening.

In anticipation of helping fill the Co-op, local products and speciality foods were supplied Provisions, International; Old Chatham Sheepherding Company; Ronnybrook Farms; Brown Cow Dairy; The Placid Baker; Yonder Farms; and the Hunger Action Network.

The TCFC table featured a raffle with goods from the Troy Farmers Market, Spectrum Theatre tickets, and gift certificate to Le Marche Vert.

This was hard work and full of unknowns, so special thanks are due to the organizing committee headed by Katie Rice. They are-- Stephannie Stoyle, Suzanne Benson, Theresa Setzer, Peter Grimm, Alane Hohenberg, Eric Paul, Laudelina Martinez, Jessica Reichard, Melissa Barry, Marc Coudert, and Nick Schrader. Participating in Barker Park clean-up were Lauren and Erika Groff, Dennis Sullivan and Friends of Barker Park.

The City of Troy stepped forward and provided parking set asides and mowing. St. Anthony’s of Padua allowed festival attendees the use of bathrooms.

Next year’s festival planning has begun, and all suggestions or participation on the committee is welcome. The thought is to look at an early fall date in 2009.

The Troy Film and Food Festival fit one of the Troy Community Food Co-op’s missions--to become a collaborative community partner.