Stimulus money will be used to create a new general grocery store and a hardware/lumber store in Crestone. The project will create two dozen jobs in the tiny community at the base of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains in Saguache County.
MJ Investments LLC will open the expanded business center through its affiliated business, Crestone Mercantile, thanks to a $796,000 business and industry guaranteed loan from the Agriculture Department’s Rural Development. Funding for the project was provided through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.
The 4,000 people who live within a 30-mile radius of Crestone currently have no access to these services. The nearest grocery is 50 miles away in Alamosa.
“These jobs will be a tremendous boost for residents of this rural community,” Agriculture Undersecretary Dallas Tonsager said. “Crestone has been very proactive in seeking resources from USDA Rural Development to help local businesses, and I encourage other communities to take advantage of Rural Development funding that is helping small towns and rural areas.” The Denver Post
