The National Cooperative Grocers Association is offering $1 million in assistance to help New Haven’s Elm City Market maintain strong financial footing.
The NCGA’s development arm is stepping in as Elm City Market – a co-op grocery in the 360 State St. development – wants to recapitalize its $4 million loan from Webster Bank in order to keep the 5-year-old grocery store operating.
NCGA is offering a $700,000 long-term loan from its co-op assistance fund and wants to raise an additional $300,000 from local sources to give the grocery a source of capital. In exchange, NCGA would run the market.
A competing plan to help the Elm City Market includes having New Haven nonprofit RISC Foundation buy out the grocery store and no longer run it as a co-op.
The co-op, founded in 2009, has more than 2,200 co-op members and 70 employees.
