Hyde Park Co-Op Hijinks, Continued
Last we heard of the Hyde Park Co-Op bankruptcy mini-scandal - wherein the neighborhood's main grocery store is about to go belly up under a mountain of unmanageable debt - the University of Chicago was recommending that the Co-Op's members vote for a plan to allow the supermarket to bow out gracefully and for a new one to speedily replace it.Well, the school's ratcheted up its rhetoric in recent days, dismissing the possibility that there is any other way to solve this problem aside from the U of C's plan. Hank Webber, Vice President for Community and Government Affairs, writes:
As I noted in my message of November 7, the Co-Op is facing very serious financial problems from which it will be difficult, if not impossible, to recover. The Co-Op is currently over $5.5 million in debt and does not have sufficient assets to pay off that amount.And with an iron fist, the University of Chicago banishes the Co-Op from the kingdom of Hyde Park! Never mind that the Co-Op's board is 2/3 in favor of this plan, and that the Co-Op is a really crappy supermarket - it's fun to rail against the school's habit of gentrifying the neighborhood in really obnoxious ways. Although a Treasure Island would at least be interesting.
.....
The University, which owns the Hyde Park Shopping Center in which the store is located, has narrowed the search for a new grocer to either Treasure Island or Dominick's...both of these stores have committed that they will be able to open in that location within two weeks after the Co-Op closes although there may be a period of closure later in the redevelopment process. The University and a new grocer will invest over $5M into the physical facilities in order to create a vastly improved shopping experience.
.....
The Co-Op has sought and been denied financing on numerous occasions, and there is substantial doubt that it would be successful in this current attempt. Without this capital, the Co-Op will have to liquidate, which means the immediate loss of jobs for employees, smaller payments to creditors, and a potentially long period in which the store would remain closed before the legal system would allow a new grocer to open.
Anyway, we will be following this.
[Photo: Co-Op History]
