One of Champaign-Urbana’s best kept secrets was revealed late Wednesday night, when Common Ground Food Co-Op announced the signing of a lease in downtown Champaign — and where.
If all goes as planned, the new Champaign store will be located at 500 N. Walnut St., on the northern edge of downtown Champaign at the corner of Walnut and East Washington. According to the information below, the store could open in early 2016.
Heads up, parents: it’s within spitting distance of the Orpheum Children’s Science Museum.
Although downtown Champaign is now well known for its restaurants, it has lacked a true grocery store option for decades. The location offers walkability to the neighborhood but will also have more than 100 parking spaces.
The building is on the southern edge of a zone defined by the USDA as a food desert, the only such area in Champaign to have this distinction. A food desert is defined by government agencies as “a census tract with a substantial share of residents who live in low-income areas that have low levels of access to a grocery store or healthy, affordable food retail outlet.”
The building (as shown) is currently occupied partly by Simply Amish, a custom furniture shop. According to the Q and A below, Simply Amish will relocate nearby.
Current Co-Op owners will automatically become owners at the new Champaign store. There are no current plans to change the Urbana store.
The announcement is a culmination of work that started with a formal feasibility study in 2013. The Common Ground Food Co-Op board gave the green light to search for a Champaign location in June 2014.
The Co-Op invites the public’s questions at a press conference on Friday, March 20 at 12 p.m. at the Champaign site location, 500 N. Walnut Street. General manager Jacqueline Hannah will be answering questions about the project on Saturday, March 21 from 10 a.m. to noon in Urbana. The Co-Op is soliciting questions and feedback via email as well (board@commonground.coop or jacqueline@commonground.coop).
Many of the commonly asked questions are addressed in the Q and A below, which was provided by Common Ground Food Co-Op.
Q: So is this store a guaranteed thing now?
A: As strongly as we feel about the viability of the 2nd store plan, it still requires funding. We are working with the City of Champaign on getting a needed sales tax rebate to pay for updates to the site. We’ll need your help to bring 900 new owners to CGFC (we currently have over 5000) to raise owner equity dollars and to run a successful owner loan campaign this fall. We will also need to secure bank loans. As soon as all the financing is in place, we can remove all contingencies and start build out.
Q: So if the funding does all come through, when will the store open?
A: That could vary depending on when the financing is complete, but projections right now are for early 2016.
Q: What will the Champaign store offer? What will be the same as the Urbana Store? What will be different?
A: The preliminary design for the Champaign store has 8,000 retail shopping square feet, in comparison to the Urbana store’s 5,700 retail square feet. Its offerings in most departments will be very comparable to the Urbana store. In the current plans, the largest differences are for the deli, which will have a hot bar, more full service options, and more in-store seating, as requested by the owners. We’re also working on having a modest, but mighty, fresh meat program where we offer value-added meats made on site – meaning handmade sausages, meal-ready marinated meats, and more. There will be many opportunities for owners to give input, beginning at our spring Meeting of Owners on April 18.
Q: When can I make an owner loan? What are the details?
A: We’re so glad to hear from owners who want to economically take part in making the 2nd CGFC store a reality. We’ve been hearing at least once a week of someone already wanting to make a loan for the Champaign store, before we even had a location! Owner loans will be a key part of our financing for the second store. Expect details about the owner loan campaign to come out by late this summer.
Q: What can we do now? What can we do to support the Champaign Store going forward other than loans?
A: Glad you asked! We need to bring new owners to CGFC! Help us get the word out that CGFC is coming to Champaign and ask your friends in Champaign to step up now and become owners so we know there is real demand for the store! We’ll be running an owner drive from April 1st until we get to 900 new owners. We have to meet this step before starting the owner loan campaign, so help us spread the word about CGFC ownership!
Q: Wait, isn’t that space, 500 N. Walnut Street, where Simply Amish is now? Are they leaving?
A: Yes, it is the location where Simply Amish currently is (plus many more square feet connected to that space.) We were concerned about Simply Amish, a great local business, as well, but not to worry! From Ramon Vega, the owner of Simply Amish, “(the building owner) has kept me informed throughout the entire process. I feel that Common Ground locating in downtown Champaign will have a very positive effect on the future of the site and development as a whole of North Downtown. (The building owner) offered alternative space in the development when complete. I would definitely be interested in staying in the overall development and will consider it after seeing the full development and the effects it has on the area.”