This New Lease Will Preserve Our Home At Centerra Marketplace

Dear Co-op members,

This past December, I wrote about the sale of Centerra Marketplace, a bustling retail center situated on a pleasant, tree-lined stretch of land off Rt. 120 in Lebanon, N.H. Dartmouth College, the long-time owner of Centerra, sold the property last fall to Crosspoint Associates, a real estate firm in suburban Boston.

Centerra has been the home of our Lebanon store for 20 years. The store opened to great fanfare at Centerra in the fall of 1997. As I wrote last December, it’s hard to imagine Centerra without the Co-op and vice versa.

Today, I’m happy to report we don’t have to.

On August 8th, our Co-op signed a lease with Crosspoint Associates. Crosspoint is a fine, principled landlord and a terrific New England firm. Co-op CFO Paul Guidone and I have gotten to know Crosspoint well over the past several months. We have signed a 15-year lease, with two options for 10-year renewals thereafter. This means our Lebanon store could be part of Centerra for the next 35 years.

Here are some other terms from the agreement:

• The rent per square foot is fair and in line with comparable properties.

• Crosspoint has agreed to provide tenant improvement money. This means that up to a certain amount, agreed upon by both parties, Crosspoint will reimburse our costs for making improvements to the store.

• Any future rent increases will be in line with the consumer price inflation (CPI) index.

• Crosspoint has agreed to make various repairs and improvements to the store sidewalk, parking lot, lighting, and landscape. This includes ensuring that our roof is watertight.

Signing this lease and preserving our home at Centerra is good news for our members, staff, local farmers, and the communities we all serve. Our Lebanon store is the primary source of food for thousands of people and provides good jobs and benefits for many Upper Valley residents. Children of some of the first Lebanon store employees are now Lebanon store employees themselves. Children of some of the first shoppers are now shoppers themselves as well, with their own children in tow. We look forward to seeing this trend continue for many years to come.

My thanks to the staff, members, and shoppers who make all of our stores so unique and successful. If you have questions about the lease or would like to know more, reach out to me anytime. My door is always open to you.

—Ed

Nourish. Cultivate. Cooperate.

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Ed Fox

Ed Fox is the Co-op General Manager. To contact, email EdFox@coopfoodstore.com.

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