• The Big Carrot - worker cooperative and its expertise with organic foods.
• Carrot Cache - a fund to support worker co-ops and organic farmers.
• Cooperative Resource Pool of Ontario - a cooperative venture capital group.
• David Walsh - a private developer interested in community goals.
• A merchant banker.
• Local community advocacy groups.

This partnership owns Carrot Common mall which includes 17 stores (total of 21,000 square feet,; 10,000 square feet of office space, and 33 parking spaces. The mall has a central courtyard which has become a very popular neighbourhood gathering space and a busy pedestrian area.

This partnership is unusual in the way it combines the talents of:

• A worker cooperative and its expertise with organic foods.
• A cooperative venture capital group.
• A private developer interested in community goals.
• A merchant banker.
• Local community advocacy groups.

The ownership of the development is held so that over 50% of its profits will flow to organizations that will benefit the community. The share of profits paid to Carrot Cache will fund new worker owned cooperatives, and other profits will fund a venture capital fund operated by the Cooperative Resource Pool of Ontario and a charitable fund that supports social justice and CED initiatives.

The partnership has worked well and there has been general consensus among the partners of the project. The operating success of the mall has been due in large part to the nature of the Big Carrot and its role as an anchor in the mall. The work of the developer has been important in the management of the mall. The community groups will benefit as they share in the profits. Because of the project's high financial leverage (i.e. the project's high debt ratio, due to the fact that all the capital contributed has been treated as debt), it has taken 8 years for the mall to reach a profit, but as the mortgage is paid down each year, the profits will increase substantially.

The Big Carrot is the anchor store in the Carrot Common. It was founded as a worker cooperative in 1984. They had established a very successful store across from the present location, and, after 3 years, the members were interested in expanding the space. The new development allowed them to increase the size of the store from 2,000 square feet to 7,000 square feet. The ground floor of the Mall also has a number of other very successful stores including "Robin Kay", an environmental products store; "Gifts of the Earth", "Book City", "PULP" the card store, "Garden's Path", "PEACE Flowers", "Kidaroo, "Mariko Japanese Restaurant" and others.

The partners have always had the hope of attracting more "alternative" stores, but this goal has been difficult to achieve given the shortage of such businesses and the high rents necessary to cover the start-up development costs of the project. As the mall matures, we have worked to attract a diverse range of businesses. The second floor has been developed as a natural health centre, and the partners have subsidized the rent of several community-based groups such as the Workers Ownership Development Foundation and A-Way Courier Service, which provides employment for ex-psychiatric patients. The mall has a large roof deck which is available to community groups to hold social and fund raising benefits. Carrot Common is continually looking for ways of utilizing the property for innovative ideas, such as creating a "wild garden" on the property, in partnership with the Evergreen Foundation.

In summary, the project is a demonstration of how different types of partners can be successful in creating a project that can have community development as one of its major goals in tandem with other goals such as creating a successful business venture, and promoting organic foods. The real benefits of the project will become more visible in the long term when it generates higher profits to support CED and other community causes.

Carrot Common has thrived through several recessions. The character of the development gives it a unique relationship with the community and it is often viewed as an alternative to the standard shopping malls. The development has received the City of Toronto award for the best small project in the City of Toronto.

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Formation of The Partnership:

The partnership began when the Big Carrot approached David Walsh for help in purchasing a car dealership site located across from their previous store. Members of the Big Carrot were introduced to David Walsh by Marty Donkervoort who had met him in 1984 at a CED workshop sponsored by the Jesuit Centre.

In undertaking the new development, the members of the Big Carrot had great difficulty borrowing money since banks and credit unions are reluctant to lend to a worker cooperative, especially one with few tangible assets. The original store had been financed on a shoestring budget with members mortgaging their houses.

The Big Carrot contributed $100,000 as its share of the financing of the mall, and spent an additional $500,000 on its store improvements. It raised part of this capital by selling to local investors $264,000 of Class A non-voting, preferred shares in units of $10,000, and by arrange a loan of $250,000 with the Federal Business Development Bank which wanted everything but the kitchen sink for collateral. As well, its suppliers extended favourable credit for about $150,000 to facilitate the financing of the expanded inventory.

David Walsh was attracted by the community spirit of the Big Carrot store which he realized would make this store an excellent anchor for a neighbourhood shopping mall. He was also interested in ways the project might support other community groups or causes. The partners set out to develop the concept with the idea that David Walsh would help raise the monies and act as developer, while at the same time consulting closely with members of the Big Carrot on how the project would proceed. The form of the partnership was not defined entirely at the beginning, but, rather, it evolved over a time as the project came together. For example, Carrot Cache was not formed until two years after the project began and its mandate evolved for another two years.

Mary Lou Morgan was the first president of Carrot Common Corporation and Carrot Cache. She left the Big Carrot in 1990 to work on other cooperative and community projects, but has remained as president of Carrot Cache.

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Financing of project:

In May, 1986, an option to purchase the property was arranged, and the property was purchased two months later. The property was purchased for $2,350,000 with the vendors assuming a mortgage for $1,850,000. In order to finance the purchase of the property and the cost of renovations, the development partners arranged secondary financing; the Big Carrot contributed $100,000; and the Co-op Venture Pool also contributed financing.

As the development proceeded a decision was made to make additional improvements to the building since the market for retail space indicated a demand for higher quality stores with correspondingly higher rents than originally anticipated. Because of these additional costs and because of delays in construction, an additional $1 million was required. The development partners increased their loans accordingly.

The development was completed in September, 1987. In July, 1988, when the building was fully leased, and a new first mortgage was arranged. With these monies, most debts were repaid.

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Carrot Cache

Carrot Cache is a non-profit organization that is interested in 1) promoting organic & community food strategies and in 2) supporting worker co-ops.

In its early days, funds were used to make loans to several CED projects such as a worker owned bakery, an organic farm near Peterborough, and a revolving tool business in Kenya operated by organic farmers.

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