Food Front sale hits snag

Environmental contamination must be addressed

The sale of the Food Front Cooperative Grocery property at 2375 NW Thurman St. is being held up by a Phase II Environmental Assessment, an elaborate process to identify and remediate soil contaminants.

Food Front board member Kate Fulton said the tentative buyer, K-5 Holdings LLC, will be responsible for covering ongoing payments on a high-risk loan Food Front during the unexpected delay, which could last months.

The contamination was apparently caused by an industrial warehouse on the site before the current building was erected in 1938 as a Safeway store, Fulton said, and was found through a more cursory Phase I assessment.

According to an online posting by Partner Engineering and Science Inc., “The presence of a REC (recognized environmental condition) … can greatly reduce [a property’s] value.”

K-5 Holdings agreed to a $2.55 million sale price, a deal approved by co-op members by a 394-42 vote last August.

A $1.9 million offer by Market of Choice in 2023 was not presented to members for action.