Their capitalization plan started out reasonable, but cost overruns sneaked up on them because there was no accountability for the project. Not all cost overruns were due to city interference. Every time the building design changed, the costs escalated. Also the contract forced the co-op to go with only new equipment, allowing no savings on used. Finally, the co-op ended up with what some observers and current staff call an overbuilt store, with equipment, furniture and construction far beyond the demands of every day business.
Several observers think so.
At one point a private developer offered to take over the project, leasing the space to the co-op and building housing units above the store, parking below. While this might not have been an ideal outcome for the co-op, it does show that an entrepreneur thought the site could work. In any case, the general manager turned down the proposal outright. Under new management the Selby store has begun to make an operational profit and sales have increased steadily. That sales started out so far below projections may have been due to a lack of marketing.