Arctaris Impact Investors, a Boston-based impact investment firm, and its affiliate management companies plan to invest $26.9 million in Erie’s redevelopment.
The first project includes a food hall, 28 residential units, and approximately 64,000 square feet of commercial space for Flagship City Market, a grocery store. The goal is to transform and revitalize Erie’s downtown core, which is a USDA-designated food desert and is one of the poorest zip codes in the United States.
Arctaris committed to investing $40 million in Erie’s revitalization when it founded the Arctaris Erie program in June 2020. The program is a partnership with Erie Insurance, which invested $58 million, and the Erie Community Foundation, which provided $5 million. Funds will be invested in projects led by the Erie Downtown Development Corp.
“The Flagship City Market and Food Hall demonstrates what can be accomplished when public, philanthropic and private sector partners work together to solve a city’s greatest challenges,” Jonathan Tower, Arctaris founder and managing partner, said. “This project puts private capital to work by investing in blighted real estate, equipment, and operating businesses, which will bring local, affordable produce to a USDA-designated food desert and jobs to the most vulnerable workers – women, minorities, and refugees – who are still recovering from the negative economic effects of COVID-19.”