New Pi co-op plans to relocate downtown Iowa City store

Officials with the New Pioneer Food Cooperative are hoping to move the downtown Iowa City store about a block southwest to the corner of Gilbert and College streets, where they can build a “significantly” larger store, with more parking and seating both inside and outside.

Co-op officials announced Wednesday the board of directors' decision to bid on four parcels of land the city has made available. The goal is to relocate the downtown store from 22 S. Van Buren St. and rebuild bigger and better, a process budgeted to cost up to $8.5 million.

The property bids are due to the city May 1, said Jenifer Angerer, marketing manager for the New Pioneer Co-op.

Because the co-op needs approval from its membership before bidding on a site for relocation, ballots will be mailed out to the co-op's 25,000 members on March 1. The ballots must be returned by March 31. The co-op will move forward with plans to relocate if a majority of members who vote are in favor of the idea.

“Our board of directors is announcing that they have found a site and have a great deal of interest,” Angerer said. “We want to take it to the next level. But nothing is guaranteed.”

Not only does the move hinge on member approval, but the city must accept the bid before the co-op goes forward with design plans that also would get the store out of the Ralston Creek flood plain, Angerer said.

The potential future co-op would sit on the northeast corner of Gilbert and College streets, site of the former John Wilson Building and a Greyhound Bus terminal. It would use two levels of the nearby ramp to offer more parking, and outdoor seating would overlook Chauncey Swann Park.

“That is something our members really wanted out of the Iowa City store,” Angerer said, “picnic tables with umbrellas.”

A new building likely would rise five to eight stories, and the co-op would cover 22,000 square feet as the first-floor anchor business, according to co-op officials. The current co-op, which has been open at its Van Buren Street location since the mid-1980s, uses about 9,000 square feet, said Matt Hartz, general manager for the co-op.

A new co-op also would enable the store to offer more products, improve worker safety, run a water- and energy-efficient store, and provide classroom and meeting facilities.

“It will allow for better working conditions for our employees and have adequate space for storage,” Hartz said. “It will have wider aisles and more space to accommodate products that consumers have requested.”

The co-op, which sits about five feet below the 100-year flood level for Ralston Creek, has had a number of flood scares over the years, Hartz said. On occasion, flash flooding and threats of flooding have prompted the store to close for up to a day.

The co-op has used heavy-duty steel shields to cover all its doors during rainstorms, and Hartz said the store took in half a foot of water in 1993.

“Of course, our concern is that if the creek hits the elevation level that engineers say it can, that would wipe us out,” Hartz said.

The New Pioneer Co-op currently owns its downtown Iowa City store, and Hartz said the goal is to continue owning. It's undecided what would happen to the current store, Hartz said.

Elyse Myers, 44, of Iowa City, said she's a New Pioneer member and is planning to vote yes on the proposed site for relocation, mostly because of the allure of more parking and seating.

“If there were improved parking, that would definitely be a plus,” Myers said, adding that she currently will hunt for parking if she comes with her 14-month-old son in tow. “I don't mind walking, but with a baby and groceries, I do drive around looking for a front-door spot.”

Although Lisa Binegar, 29, of Cedar Rapids, said she usually walks to the co-op from her workplace in Iowa City every day, she most definitely would support a move that would add seating and parking, leaving drivers less frustrated.

“After 5 p.m. it's packed,” she said. “So I can see that appealing to a lot of people.”

The New Pioneer board will host four member meetings to discuss the location, proposal, and resolution with its membership:

March 10 at 10:30 a.m. at the Robert A. Lee Recreation Center, 220 S Gilbert St., Iowa City

March 18 at 2 p.m. at the Cedar Rapids Museum of Art, 410 3rd Ave. SE, Cedar Rapids

March 20 at 7 p.m. at the North Ridge Pavilion, 2250 Holiday Road, Coralville

March 31 at 1 p.m. at the Robert A. Lee Recreation Center in Iowa City