Ozark Natural Foods Buys Building
Management Plans Improvements
Last updated Wednesday, July 30, 2008 7:47 PM CDT in Business
By Kimberly Morrison
THE MORNING NEWS
Ozark Natural Foods said Wednesday it had completed a $2.2 million purchase of the building it has occupied since 2000.
The Fayetteville food cooperative bought the 25,000-square-foot building from Flake & Kelley Commercial, a Little Rock-based real estate broker that owns Evelyn Hills Shopping Center, where the building is located.
The building at 1554 N. College Ave. housed a Montgomery Ward until the late 1990s when the general merchandise retailer closed the location. Ozark Natural Foods renovated the property and moved from its home on Dickson Street.
Ozark Natural Foods on Monday took ownership of the building, which includes Pulse Fitness, and is planning to start improvements to the building and land.
"In the next 60 days, we plan to seal the perimeter of the building against water intrusion to dry out the basement and install new energy-efficient heating and air conditioning equipment," said Alysen Land, the co-op's general manager. "The next priority is to repair the roof."
Those changes will be the first phase in a six-year improvement plan that will include the addition of an enclosed entryway to reduce energy waste and provide an interior cart corral, Land said.
Also included in the long-term plan are upgrades to the retail space, kitchen, interior and exterior dining areas and deli counters. The co-op also plans to plant trees in the grass islands in the parking lot and convert the basement to office and storage space, which will allow the retail space to expand into the rear of the building's main floor.
Co-op management is considering wind-powered lighting for the parking lot and a solar hot water system, Land said.
The co-op has been a Fayetteville staple since 1971 and is owned by more than 5,200 investors, which collectively share ownership of the business.
Reader Comments (No comments posted.)
The following comments are provided by readers and are the sole responsibility of their authors. The Morning News does not review comments before their publication, nor do we guarantee their accuracy. By publishing a comment here you agree to abide by our comment policy. If you see a comment that violates our policy, please notify the web editor.
Not already registered?
