Linden Hills Co-op is moving

Last update: October 30, 2009 - 10:14 AM

Another Minneapolis food co-op is on the move.

This time it's Linden Hills Co-op, which plans to move a little less than a mile to the west to the former location of Sunnyside Market at 3815 Sunnyside Av., near 44th and France Avenue S.

The move, expected next August, will cost $3.5 million and give the store about 50 percent more space than its current location at 2813 W. 43rd St.

A lease was signed last Friday, co-op spokeswoman Jeanne Lakso said. Financing includes a bank loan, funding from the North Country Cooperative Development Fund, and $1.5 million in short-term loans from members. The terms of those loans would be in the range of 3.5 to 5 percent for four to seven years, Lakso said.

No architect has been hired and no specific plans have been drawn up for the building that last housed a 14,200-square-foot grocery store, but the co-op expects to have indoor and outdoor seating, more parking than its current location, a larger bakery and deli, a full-service meat and seafood counter, and more products, Lakso said.

It's the second major expansion of a Minneapolis co-op in recent months, with the Seward Co-op finishing up its first year in a new location on Franklin Avenue. That move was also partially financed by a $1.5 million commitment from members.

The Linden Hills Co-op reported $9.2 million in sales in its most recent fiscal year ended June 30, a 10 percent increase from the previous year. News of its move was first reported on Twitter by member David Brauer.

MATT McKinney