Keweenaw Co-op Market & Deli, Hancock, Mich., was recently awarded a $1.4 million grant from the Michigan Strategic Fund (MSF). The grant will help fund the co-op’s relocation to a building in downtown Hancock. The co-op plans to expand the building, a former automotive shop, by 50% as part of an estimated $7.6 million project.
When completed, the new location will provide food options in an area currently affected by food apartheid. The expanded building will allow for a full deli and indoor and outdoor seating.
The project is expected to create 11 new full-time jobs, as well as retain 28 jobs. In addition to the renovation of a vacant building in the city’s downtown, the new store will also serve as a catalyst for future development in the area.
The Michigan Economic Development Corp (MEDC) administers several grant programs associated with the MSF. The co-op applied for a Michigan Community Revitalization Program (MCRP) grant, the focus of which is to encourage and promote the rehabilitation and redevelopment of brownfield and historic preservation sites located in downtowns.
“Our project was eligible because we are rehabilitating a functionally obsolete property in downtown Hancock,” Keweenaw Co-op General Manager Curt Webb said. “Our project also checked these boxes for the MCRP: demonstrated need, local financial support of the project, catalyst for additional revitalization, job creation and locating in an underserved area.”
Webb described the grant program as “a last-in gap filler.”
“We had to submit an application and a completed pro forma to MEDC, along with documentation of all proposed expenses for the project,” Webb said. “We were required to tap all other possible funding sources and maximize bank loans, and the MCRP grant filled the remaining funding gap. MEDC prepared a presentation to the MSF board, and our MEDC rep and I presented at a board meeting.”
The co-op also received a Michigan Department of Agriculture and Regional Development Regional Food Systems grant ($100,000) and a Healthy Food Financing Initiative grant ($200,000), in addition to city support totaling $35,000. In total, $1.75 million in grants (including MEDC) made the relocation project possible.
Read more about the MSF grant and Keweenaw Co-op’s relocation project here.
