Downtown Kansas City, Kansas, has a full service grocery.
In late July, The Merc Co+op opened the doors of their new full-service grocery store at 501 Minnesota Ave. in downtown Kansas City, Kansas. This store’s opening is an important milestone in the ongoing effort to mitigate food access challenges in KCK, according to local officials.
“It took a long time and a lot of hard work to make this new grocery store a reality, and we are thankful to have such great partners in The Merc Co+op. We know they will deliver high quality, fresh products at a good price point and they will provide top notch management,” said Doug Bach, Unified Government county administrator.
The Merc Co+op is a community-owned cooperative business with 46 years of experience operating a grocery store. Their vision to create a welcoming, affordable multi-cultural urban market is based on their commitment to building relationships through outreach, employing local residents with livable wages and benefits, and seeking feedback from the KCK community.
“Our unique business model puts the needs of community members first, and the sentiment has been overwhelmingly positive. As cooperative grocers, there’s no greater reward than hearing gratitude from the community we are serving,” said Rita York Hennecke, general manager, The Merc Co+op. “Everyone is welcome to shop at the co-op and anyone can become an owner.”
“I am excited for the opening of The Merc Co+op in our downtown. So many people from our neighborhoods, from the co-op’s team, and from the Unified Government worked several years to get this project to a sustainable place,” said Unified Government Mayor-CEO, David Alvey. “I look forward to shopping at The Merc Co+op and I look forward to the services that it will bring to our downtown neighborhoods.”
“Downtown KCK and the surrounding neighborhoods have been without a grocery store for far too long, but after years of effort by countless people, the UG is excited to see this project come to fruition,” said Katherine Carttar, director of economic development for the Unified Government.
This project was made possible by a public-private partnership that is likely to help bring additional investment into the area. The three year management agreement requires the co-op to pay property taxes, utilities, and includes hours of operation, services, community benefits and financial structure.
“The store not only helps provide a desperately wanted community need, but also brings a much-needed retail presence that will attract thousands of patrons every day to Downtown KCK,” said Jason Norbury, executive director of the Downtown Shareholders. “Further, the grocery store will, combined with the influx of new employees to the area, help invigorate the east end of Downtown and provide an anchor for future development.”
The approximately $7 million project was funded through the Hotel Revenue Fund at $3.2 million and $1.6 million from sales tax and property tax from the Downtown Grocery Tax Increment Financing (TIF) District, which was approved by the UG Commission on Aug. 30, 2018, to recoup expenditures.
The Unified Government was able to leverage other financing tools due to the grocery store’s location within a limited food access area. With the assistance of Sunflower Development Group, the UG received New Market Tax Credits allocated by the Central Bank of Kansas City that net nearly $1 million in proceeds. The federal tax credit program provides an incentive to invest in distressed census tracts, giving investors a tax credit to offset their federal income tax. Additionally, Greater Kansas City Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC) provided low-cost capital to complete the financing of the project with access to Healthy Food Financing Initiative funding and the purchase of $1.42 million in General Obligation Bonds issued by the Unified Government.
“We are proud to be a part of The Merc Co+op project along with the other stakeholders. We know how important sustainable food is to the health of our communities. CBKC looks forward to downtown KCK progress with the opening of The Merc Co+op,” said Bill Dana, president-CEO of Central Bank of Kansas City.
Bach added, “We know that KU hospital has invested over $60 million right across the street and because of this grocery store we are talking with other developers about future projects nearby. It took the commitment of our mayor and commission to make this happen and I know they expect my staff to keep working to make this area thrive.”
The Merc Co+op is open daily 7 a.m.-8 p.m. It is a full service grocery store offering affordable conventional, natural, organic and local products as well as made to order coffee drinks, signature sandwiches and locally made baked goods. The co-op accepts SNAP, EBT and WIC. For more information, visit www.themerc.coop or visit the store at 501 Minnesota Ave.
Story from Unified Government
