With the planned renovation and expansion of the Cook County Whole Foods Co-op in Grand Marais now taking shape, it has been determined that the beloved mural on the outside north wall has to come down.
An architect recently inspected the wall the mural is attached to and determined it couldn’t withstand the re-building and expansion planned for this fall, said Co-op Executive Director Jennifer Stolz.
“It can’t be saved,” said Stolz, “But pieces of it can be saved, and they will be used to create a tribute to the adults and kids who built this mural.”
The co-op board met on Tuesday, June 26, in a meeting room at WTIP Radio where Stolz gave an update about the mural and presented some information about fundraising for the planned expansion.
The mural took five years to build and was constructed by Sawtooth Mountain Elementary fourth graders under the direction of their teacher Jana Larson and Kelly Dupre, an artist and former teacher who volunteered to help with the project. Many organizations, individuals and businesses also contributed a great deal of time, money or resources to help with this luminous art project.
Just what form salvaged pieces will take and just where they will be placed in the new building hasn’t been yet determined, but it seems to be an acceptable compromise. There was a lot of hand wringing, angst, and emotion when it became fairly apparent the mural wasn’t going to make it through the rebuilding process.
While the co-op building undergoes revamping the businesses will temporarily move to a new location. “We have a spot picked out but we don’t have a lease signed yet, so I’m not ready to tell anyone where we will be moving,” Stolz said.
All in all it is expected to cost $2,250,000 for the teardown, temporary relocation and rebuilding of the co-op.
To help fund the project the board has authorized an “Owner Loan Campaign” that will hopefully raise $600,000.
After two weeks $145,000 has been raised through the “Owner Loan Campaign,” said Stolz, adding that the co-op is a little ahead of schedule.
“Once we have architectural drawings we will go to the local banks and credit union for loans,” said Stolz. Another source of income will be a loan from North Country Cooperative Development Fund, which loans money to co-ops for expansion. The co-op also has $350,000 in cash reserves targeted for this project.
Although the final plans aren’t finished, the new store will likely be about 6,000 square feet with 3,500 feet of retail space and 2,500 feet for offices, prep area, coolers, etc.
The current store is 3,780 square feet with 1,620 feet of retail space.
Plans are to build the new store with sustainability in mind, and Gold LEED standards will be sought, although the board realizes that not all of the LEED standards will be affordable under their cost structure.
Builder Commonwealth, a builder from Duluth, was selected as the general contractor, said Stolz, “Because they have worked on and built a lot of grocery stores.”
But, said Stolz, Builder’s Commonwealth will solicit local subcontractors to do much of the work.
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