Will the commercial space in this Point Breeze mixed-use development become a new food co-op?
Naked Philly, the real estate news website run by OCF Realty, shared a snippet of news on Friday about plans for a “big glass box” that will descend upon Point Breeze Avenue.
The plan for the project is to keep some of the remaining structure, which is currently Point Save Super, and add an additional two floors of the more modern-looking, glass-box-like structure to the top of the building at 1245 Point Breeze Ave. While the plans themselves are worth checking out, what may be the more interesting news about this project is the food co-op that could be in the works for the ground-floor commercial space.
From Naked Philly:
The plans call for three floors of apartments over retail, with fifteen residential units in total. Toner Architects did the architecture, and Designblendz did the sweet looking renderings.
Word on the street is that this could become the home of a new food co-op for Point Breeze. Ori Feibush has been sharing these renderings, along with some more community information on planning for a food co-op, in Facebook groups dedicated to this effort for a Point Breeze community grocery store.
In a previous Facebook post about a month ago, Feibush stated that he has a “top secret,” soon-to-be-built development that would be perfect for this effort. These newly-released renderings seem to lend themselves to that.
If this indeed is a new food co-op coming to this location, how would this project compete with the South Philly Food Co-op‘s efforts?
Here’s what Feibush said in the same Facebook post:
This effort is not a knock on the South Philly Food Co-op. In fact, I love them and all they hope to accomplish. I am just jealous that other neighborhoods are more likely than ours to see a cooperative open up in their boundaries.
A public design session is being held on Saturday, May 21 at the Kind Institute to brainstorm for the Point Breeze Food Co-op. You can find out more about that event here.
Is the South Philly Food Co-Op still a realistic idea??
At this point I highly doubt it. Not sure what’s going on with the lawsuit brought against them.
what lawsuit?
There is no lawsuit.
There is a troll on this board (going by many different names) who keeps talking smack and doesn’t have any facts to back it up.
Yes, there will be a coop.
It takes a lot of planning and effort to open a grocery store in South Philly.
That’s why there aren’t very many of them, even when the demand is great.
I don’t doubt it is a complex endeavor, but it’s been six years. JFK put a man on the moon in nine years.
At this point, it seems highly unlikely.
The South Philly Food Co-op is going strong with 665 members. There is not now nor was there ever a lawsuit. We invite everyone to find out about what we’ve been up to and what is coming next for The South Philly Food Co-op at our General Membership Meeting on May 25th at from 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m., at the East Passyunk Community Recreation Center at 1025 Mifflin St. http://www.southphillyfoodcoop.org/spring_general_membership_meeting_may_25_2016
Point breeze would be a horrible spot for the coop. I bet more than half of the coop members are on the east side of broad.
This would be a different co-op, did you read the article?
It’s horrible idea for any coop. Make sure ori hires contractors who have done there osha courses.
I’d be willing to bet that 90 percent of their members live in Passyunk Square/East Passyunk Crossing. A coöp anywhere but on the Avenue would be suicide.
When a developer writes that there’s a Co-op in the mix, timing is crucial. Is that Co-op’s organizing to the point that they have a robust membership base and the knowledge on how to tie into the national cooperative movement?
If the project gestation is a couple of years and the Co-op starts around the same time and has a comparable buildup then all the pieces will come together. However it’s a long and arduous trip to get neighbors on the same sheet of music who are willing to invest their own money and time to make it happen.
If the project is near done but the Co-op isn’t ready, will the developer wait for the Co-op to build the knowledge and equity to rent or buy the space? That depends on the developer and the first thing any organizing Co-op should ask this developer.
If the developer is not willing to wait it won’t be a Co-op that runs that grocery.
David Woo
Cooperative Enterprise Advocate and Weavers Way member
this feibush project sounds like a co-op in name only. there is no indication that he has a member base or any kind of organizing force behind the grocery store he is trying to fill his space with.