BELFAST, Maine — The City of Belfast is reimaging an old staple in its downtown area.
What was the Belfast Co-op Store is being re-imagined to the new Belfast Community Co-op.
The Belfast Community Co-op is expanding, and renovations are set to begin this month.
The reimagined space will include a new curbside pick-up area, as well as the return of a more functional cafe on-site.
The hope is for the new space to increase shopping and shelf space by 30 percent.
Town officials and co-op management are excited this is finally happening after years of planning.
Doug Johnson, general manager of the Belfast Community Co-op, says the much-anticipated renovations are a necessity for the co-op to be successful.
“There are a number of things that we need to do to make sure that this building lasts for decades to come. There's a lot of infrastructure that we need to work on, plumbing, electrical, [and] HVAC. All that needs to be replaced in order for us to continue to thrive in the space that we are,” expressed Johnson.
Amanda Cunningham, the executive director for Belfast, says with the planned features and amenities, the hope is to attract more shoppers to the Co-op, while providing more options, and enticing folks to stick around.
Cunningham added that the city could not be more thrilled with renovation plans in the making for years that are now finally coming to fruition.
“Today is their ground-breaking, and we could not be more delighted for this endeavor to happen. For almost 50 years, this has been an anchor to downtown Belfast,” stated Cunningham.
Organizers hope to open the new space next year with the new amenities.