A new grocery cooperative slated to open early next year in downtown Spokane will scream "sustainable" in nearly every way—from the characteristics of its newly redeveloped facility, to the vendors that will sell goods there, to its own governance, say organizers.

Called the Main Market Co-op, the new enterprise will be located at 44 W. Main, at the northeast corner of Main Avenue and Browne Street. The property, which previously was occupied by a Goodyear Tire Center store, was purchased in 2006 by Jim Sheehan, who also owns the nearby Community Building and former Saranac Hotel building. He will lease the building to the cooperative.

Jennifer Hall, who is working with others to create the co-op, says the planned market will be equipped with a host of environmentally sensitive amenities, including low-energy lighting and rainwater collectors, and will focus on selling locally produced foods. It also will be owned by its member customers and run by a board made up of those members, which she contends can be a more "sustainable" business model than a for-profit company.

Customers don't have to be members of the co-op to shop there, but members will receive discounts on product sold and on rental of freezer lockers there, as well as other benefits, Hall says.

The market will sell produce, meat, seafood, and packaged items, with an emphasis on fresh, healthy foods bought in small quantities from Inland Northwest producers, and will provide information about the food to customers, says Hall, whose title with the co-op is sustainable food builder. It also will have a deli that will offer prepared food items.

The co-op's Web site, at www.mainmarket.coop, says products sold at the market will include such items as "Green Bluff strawberries, Upper Columbia peaches and cheeses, grass-fed meats from Eastern Washington, and Taylor Farms shellfish, to name just a few."

Hall says the market will help local producers—some of which traditionally also sell goods at local farmers' markets here—connect with consumers, in some cases extending access past traditional seasonal limitations.

"We prioritize local sources," she says. "We partner with people who care about the same things we do."

Most of the market's packaged food will be bought from United Natural Foods Inc., a Providence, R.I.-based distributor of natural, organic, and specialty foods, Hall says. "But that can change as other locals step up."

$2 million project

The project to redevelop the former tire store as a food market is expected to cost about $2 million, says Hall. Construction is being done by Leone & Keeble Inc., of Spokane, and the architect is Patsy O'Connor, also of Spokane, she says.

Outside, the large sign left over from the property's days as a Goodyear store no longer will beam with fluorescent lights, but rather will use energy-efficient LED (light-emitting diode) lights. Meanwhile, 10 solar panels installed on the front of the building will meet a portion of the market's energy needs, and more solar panels are planned for later. The interior of the market also will be lit with LED bulbs, which have a longer life and are more energy efficient than conventional incandescent bulbs, she says. To save more energy, much of the lighting inside will be controlled by motion sensors, she adds.

Under the parking lot to the west of the building, a large tank will collect rainwater runoff to provide irrigation water for the co-op, Hall says. The pavers in front of the building are spaced to allow rain and snow to soak into the ground. The landscaping is being designed to require as little irrigation as possible.

The market will have two bike racks for public use, and another for staff members, as well as some dog tie-ups, encouraging customers to walk or ride a bike there, she says.

Also, Hall says, don't expect to buy bottled water at Main Market, because it won't be for sale, for environmental reasons. Instead, customers will be able to fill their own bottles for free, within reason, with filtered water available there, she says.

Customers won't find open refrigeration in the store, unlike at supermarkets.

"The refrigerator cases will be closed," Hall says. "That saves the world tons of energy."

Heat produced by the compressors and condensers that keep the refrigerators and freezers at correct temperatures will be harnessed for use in the building.

"The work of the machinery produces quite a bit of heat," Hall says. "That heat, instead of going into the air to just further increase the temperature of the core of downtown, instead gets rerouted to the hot water tank. The hot water tank then has less work to do to make water hot when needed."

The facility also will have a greenhouse, as well as a "community" dining area and a commercial kitchen, she says.

The market has been reconstructed to achieve LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Gold certification from the U.S. Green Building Council.

Still, the facility won't be the only sustainable tactic in the market's playbook, Hall says.

The co-op ownership model makes the operation more sustainable as a business, she argues. Decisions about how the business is operated are made by a nine-member board of directors made up of its member-owners. The board members will serve three-year terms, and can serve two terms in a row before taking a break, Hall says.

Hall says the diversity in ownership will mean the market is less likely to fail as a business. Customers will have a vested interest in seeing the business thrive.

"A cooperative fails less often than other business models," she says. "It has community owners who participate in the governance."

The market initially will employ 20 to 25 people, and already has more than 530 members. The General membership costs $180, or $75 for those who are low income.

Members also will get discounts on educational classes, and will have access to use space in the market's rooftop garden, she says. The benefits will likely be expanded once the operation gets going, she says.