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Eastside Grocery Store Updates Greetings!
And thank you for your interest in the Eastside Grocery Store planning project we are working on. Here you will find a monthly update of progress as we work towards building a grocery store at the former Spann Elementary School and the current home of the Eastside Farmers Market. Scroll down for this month’s update and to sign up for upcoming events.
June 25
Site Plan
Here is a draft of our current site plan. We are working with architects from the USDA to develop the plans for the store. In addition to the grocery store itself we hope to have a cafe, outdoor seating area, greenhouse, and composting operation. You will notice some of those features on these plans.
Hyperlink: Current Grocery Store Design DRAFT
In addition to developing the new store we are also working on a plan to demolish the former Spann school building. This will include a cleanup of the existing building to remove any hazardous materials. Knocking down the existing building to clear the site for a new building. And submitting an application to get the site formally rezoned so that a grocery store can be built on the property.
Store Features
A grocery store can serve many different purposes besides selling groceries! We want this grocery store to serve residents in the area in several ways. We have reviewed grocery store models from all over the country to find out what others are doing to successfully serve their community. Take a look at some of these unique models.
Community Design Input
This grocery store is unique because it is being designed by the people that will shop there! Our team has hosted two community meetings so far at El Quinto del Sol community center. Through these meetings some important findings have come up. We want prices to be affordable and produce to be local! Take a look at other comments here:
Hyperlink: summary of responses
Your input is critical! Please take a look at our upcoming events and join us to share your input or, fill out this form linked below to share your thoughts if you cannot make one of our in-person options.
Community Wealth building opportunities
We are exploring operating and ownership models for the grocery store. We are considering a shareholder model and a cooperative model.
In the share holder model governance prioritizes maximizing financial returns for shareholders, who are the owners of the company. It essentially means that a company's primary duty is to increase the value of its stock and generate profits for its investors.
In the cooperative business model, individuals collectively own and operate a business for the benefit of the community. Unlike traditional businesses, everyone involved has a voice in decision-making and shares in the profits. The primary goal is to serve members and the community, often with profits reinvested for social, economic, or cultural needs.
Learn more about these two models by watching these videos:
Shareholder model: https://youtu.be/oHwlSaOUSk0?feature=shared
Cooperative model: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qOKhaMsPt5k
Fundraising
Building a grocery store will require a lot of resources. We are currently planning a budget of around $5million from current state to doors open. Once we develop a clear fundraising plan we will share more details in this section.
Upcoming Events to share input
Skate competition, Saturday, June 21, 10am-2pm, we will have a table and be doing a raffle
Focus group dinners - ONGOING, anytime!
Are you an east side resident? Let us take you and some of your neighbors to dinner! You pick the place, we pay the bill. During our dinner we will ask the group questions about the grocery store and what you would like to see there.
Sign-up for events here: https://forms.gle/ZUCxpmE64ZaHismu5
If you have questions about the information shared in this newsletter please contact us via this form.
Office: 3555 Pecos Street, Denver, CO 80211
Call 303.480.9394
Email:[email protected]
Site: www.rmser.org
