Endangered River District market project sees signs of hope. Here’s what to know
Last month, Alchemist Public Market, a proposed multifaceted community space at 341 North 10th Street that broke ground in the burgeoning River District in April, appeared at risk of cancellation due to a funding issue. Timing, not the financial security of the project, was the crux, and all indications were that time was running out.
The project, which is fully funded with $9.4 million in federal and state grants, ran into a timing gap. Draws from those grants can take 60 to 90 days to process, but the project’s contractors needed payment on month-to-month terms.
The non-profit sought a one-year $3 million bridge loan, but ran into opposition. Absent the loan, the organization feared it would have to cancel the project outright as of June 2. Fortunately, circumstances have changed, and Alchemist CEO Sam Greenlee seems confident there is a path forward.
“One key thing is that in the past week and a half, we were able to raise about $770,000 in financing for the project. Most of that is direct loans. A portion of it is very generous charitable gift toward the project, and so that was extremely helpful,” he said.
The organization’s partners, including California EDD and the project’s contractor, D.G. Grenade, also stepped up to help find solutions.
“The state identified some efficiencies in the reimbursement process and D.G. Grenade is providing some flexibility on timelines. Combining those makes a big difference to our project cash flow,” Greenlee said.
In the end, this means Alchemist needs to drum up a total of about $2 million as opposed to the previous estimate of $3 million. With the funds already raised, that leaves around $1.25 million, but Greenlee says things are in the works.
“I think between the conversations we have ongoing, and the potential of people hearing about this, and how small the gap is at this point, I think we’re on track for a collection of partners to step in and finish that liquidity gap,” he said.
