Developing Opportunities with RePurpose Development
Mindy and Shannon Cooney have made Centralia their mission, leaving an undeniable footprint on its historic downtown through various businesses endeavors, revitalization projects and community-wide events.
The couple moved to Centralia from Los Angeles in 2014, in order to purchase the Crooked Creek Winery. While relaunching the winery took time and perseverance, the couple were making award-winning spirits in no time.
Named ‘Best Red Wine’ of 2019 by St. Louis Magazine and receiving numerous awards from regional competitions, the Cooneys decided to shift their focus toward community efforts.
“We stopped competing and changed our direction to become a little more community-oriented,” recalled Shannon Conney. “We stopped worrying so much about winning wine competitions and started worrying more about the impact we were having.”
Mindy added that she and Shannon briefly considered relocating to another community before diving headfirst into community development. Though, after a fateful drive through town, she said she knew they were in Centralia for a reason.
“I was driving down Broadway by myself and the sun just shined on the sign that says, ‘Centralia: Your Opportunity.’ And the sign just glistened that day,” Mindy recalled. “I had driven by that sign a million times, but that day it really hit me. I knew then that we were going to build all of this here.”
Pairing their interest in community growth with their desire to create more in downtown Centralia, the Cooneys introduced a pop-up winery in 2018.
The success of the pop-up ultimately led to the Cooneys’ Winery Block Project, which got its start in 2020 with the creation of Crooked Creek Winery Downtown, a popular wine bar and hot spot for local nightlife. The project was continued shortly thereafter with The Yard, a plot of green space designated to hosting live music and various downtown events.
The ongoing Winery Block Project includes the revitalization of further downtown buildings in order to house new amenities, such as a cafe and second-floor apartments.
“Our downtown could be a place where you can walk to the gym when you get up in the morning and then go get a coffee,” Mindy said. “Then you walk down the street to work. I think it’s really possible here.”
“It’s great that we will have more people living downtown,” Mindy continued, “But it’s also about supporting businesses.”
The restoration projects, which took inspiration from the couple’s experiences living in Los Angeles and other large metropolitan areas, were all carried out under the Cooney’s development business, RePurpose Development, LLC.
RePurpose Development has acquired buildings in the Centralia Commercial Historic District to make these vacant buildings into thriving places for businesses like A&A Armory and Colden Brewery.
In addition to the ongoing Winery Block Project, the Cooneys have also handcrafted annual community events, such as the Downtown Summer Concert Series and Suds Fest, both of which take place in the heart of Centralia.
“The Downtown Summer Concert Series was inspired by our time in California and Manhattan Beach,” Shannon said. “They had these concerts in the park, and it was an opportunity for people to throw out blankets and enjoy music and food trucks. We wanted to try to do something similar, all while bringing people out of town to downtown Centralia to see what potential and opportunities we have.”
The Cooneys’ most recent downtown developments include opening Prescription Shared Space, a shared office space currently utilized by several self-owned businesses, like Hand & Soul Massage and Centralia Sunshine Project; as well as the recent purchase, restoration, and reopening of the historic Centralia House Restaurant.
“There’s still so much opportunity downtown,” Mindy said,” I don’t think we’re even scratching the surface.”
“We’re not done. I still feel like we have so much left to do,” followed Shannon. “I don’t feel like we’ve accomplished all that we’ve planned to accomplish yet. There’s going to be a lot to build on for the next 10 years in Downtown.
