LEWISTON — The Lewiston Auburn Community Market may not have broken ground, but it is quickly gaining ground as membership grows and as organizers work through environmental reviews, financing and site plans.

The market is a cooperative that would take over the site of the former Lewiston police station at 171 Park St., offering a grocery store, cafe, commercial kitchens, cold and dry storage space, food truck space and an incubator that caters to local food entrepreneurs. 

“It’s got the community piece, it’s got the ‘meeting the needs of our specific neighborhood’ piece, and then it’s got this economic development piece,” said Rebecca Swanson Conrad, an adviser for the project undertaken by the Lewiston Auburn Community Market and the Cooperative Development Institute.

“And  I want more local youth to be involved in this — there will be entrepreneurial opportunities for them,” Conrad said.

The cooperative was originally set to renovate the former Sun Journal building at 104 Park St. for a 12,000-square-foot facility. But after plans to develop the property into a homeless shelter took precedence, organizers shifted focus. 

Instead, in late 2023, the Lewiston City Council approved an option agreement to allow organizers to pursue the former police station. The site was determined to be the only other option meeting the project’s needs.

Delays in relocating the police department, which is now at 141 Mill St., caused the city to grant a six-month extension so organizers could access the property. 

Now plans have shifted to building a 15,000-20,000-square-foot project at the police station, which would be demolished to make way for the $10 million project. 

But things are in flux, Conrad said. The city still owns the property. The cooperative is waiting on federal environmental reports, as well as remediation plans from civil and environmental engineers, which will affect demolition, final financing and the timeline. 

“ We’ve been a little quiet only because we don’t want to get ahead of ourselves,” Conrad said, adding that the cooperative is the sort of economic development Lewiston needs.

“Living here, the last thing I want to see happen is that we overpromise and underdeliver. This community has had that happen too many times. To me, this one’s going to be real, and it’s going to make a big difference,” she said.

Throughout the sale process, organizers have continued seeking financing and developing plans for the market after the City Council approved the $2,000 sale of the property in September. 

The sale price remains for now, said Catherine Bessey, director of cooperative business services program, but it could change based on developments.

“It’s roughly speaking a $10 million development project … plus or minus (demolition),” Bessey said. “As we figure out what this demo piece will be, we may have to truncate here and add there.”

The cooperative’s funding, which is still being assembled, includes commercial loans, grants, New Markets Tax Credit and outside investment. 

The project, which does not rely on local taxpayers, does count on local buy-in through its growing membership, a model that gives people a sense of connection and belonging to the space, said Kathryn Piper, programs manager for Five Pillars Butchery in Unity, Maine. Five Pillars is a producer member in the cooperative. 

“So you come here and you feel like it’s yours … you feel comfortable sitting down and visiting with people … because you have that economic connection,” Piper said. “We see this space as an extension, not an ownership, but just utilizing what already exists in the city in a bigger way.”

With over 100 members assembled so far, the cooperative is hoping to attract 500-1,000 new members before the end of 2026, but that goal is also in flux, Conrad said.

Ultimately, it’s important for people to know that all decisions about the business and space of the project will come from the 15-person board composed of active community members, Conrad said.

Bessey said the project is a “food hub meets community center,” a true community development effort that brings together residents, businesses and entrepreneurs for a common vision. She said early memberships are critically important for long-term viability.

“This is a community-led project … not folks coming from the outside saying, ‘This is what this community needs,’” she added. “This is the community itself saying, ‘This is what we envision to be a solution to some of the problems we face in our community and barriers we face in our community.'”