GreenStar, Ithaca’s well-known natural foods market, announced on February 14 their goal of relocating and expanding their West End store. GreenStar has three stores plus their event space known as “The Space at GreenStar”. While Greenstar pulled in a total of about $22.4 million in 2017, more than 75 percent of the co-op’s profits came from a single location: the West End GreenStar. With no more room to accommodate growing demand, GreenStar has decided to pursue a number of expansions to better serve the Ithaca community.
GreenStar has actively considered expanding their store since 2000. GreenStar’s main location, the West End store, is right next to Route 13 at an intersection between Fulton and Seneca Streets. GreenStar cannot expand its footprint anymore in the block that they currently occupy without cutting the already tight parking space. As a result, GreenStar has not been able to expand under one roof.
More recently, though, Growing Forward, the name of the relocation project, has been prompted for two major reasons. GreenStar’s lease expires in 2019, and they would receive economic incentives if they relocated to a new site. Under the proposed move, the store would also triple in size. With more space, customers would be less crammed in small aisles, product lines could be extended, and the shopping experience would vastly improve.
The flagship store is proposed to move to 770 Cascadilla Street. According to GreenStar’s Feasibility Study, in terms of infrastructure, the new location will have a total footprint of about 35,000 square feet. Currently, the West End Location takes up about 29,000 square feet. The sales floor is expected to grow from 6,711 square feet to 16,494 square feet, allowing GreenStar to offer more products in a more comfortable space.
GreenStar wishes to ensure that expanding and relocating is what their avid members and other customers want from them. To do this, they held one public meeting to discuss whether or not they should augment their West End store, and one feedback meeting just for members: the “Special Meeting” on March 16 and the “Member Feedback Session” on March 21. After these meetings, GreenStar owners will meet in late March to vote on expansion.
GreenStar’s possible expansion and relocation have potential to make a big impact on the Ithaca. Most significantly, the expansion would allow for the creation of new jobs, and the expansion of services provided by GreenStar.