GREENFIELD — After a six-month effort, the Franklin Community Co-op has wrapped up its capital campaign with $1.64 million in member loans, exceeding its original goal of $1.5 million.

According to Outreach and Communications Manager Amy Britt, more than 220 members contributed to the campaign, which launched in April to help with the cost of moving Green Fields Market into the former Wilson’s Department Store on Main Street.

“This community really showed up to demonstrate its commitment to our co-op and to Franklin County,” Peter Garbus, a Franklin Community Co-op board member and coordinator of the capital campaign team, said in a statement. “Now we have evidence to show other potential funders that this project has real community backing. We stand ready to make this happen.”

Wilson’s Department Store, which was one of the last independent, family-owned department stores in the country, closed in January 2020. This was shortly after Kevin O’Neil, former president of the 137-year-old retail store, announced his retirement.

In November 2022, Mayor Roxann Wedegartner announced that the city worked in partnership with The Community Builders, MassDevelopment and the Franklin Community Co-op on the property’s acquisition. The redevelopment plan for the former Wilson’s building involves relocating and expanding Green Fields Market — which is operated by the Franklin Community Co-op — into the building’s first floor and turning the upper floors into mixed-income rental apartments.

To date, planners have received approval from the Planning Board and a special permit from the Zoning Board of Appeals.

Franklin Community Co-op Board Vice President KC Ceccarossi previously said the relocation of Green Fields Market, currently situated about a block away, will allow for the food cooperative to double the sales floor and increase local sales, as well as grow job availability by an estimated 20%. Currently, the market employs about 100 people.

“Greenfield is a resilient little city and there is so much positive momentum right now, with new leadership in key positions like economic development, and public services like our library, farmers market, and community college,” Greenfield Business Association Director Hannah Rechtschaffen said in a statement. “A project like the co-op’s expansion signals the very real investment in Greenfield’s future — and that supports the economic health of Franklin County as a whole. Having a full-service grocery store right on Main Street improves food access, maintains local food availability and continues to revitalize the culture of community right in the heart of town, which, make no mistake, will be felt well beyond Greenfield.”

Reporter Mary Byrne can be reached at mbyrne@recorder.com or 413-930-4429. Twitter: @MaryEByrne.