Columbia Heights News - Washington, DC - Is Whole Foods Market Coming?

Help Bring Whole Foods Market To Columbia Heights!

Would you like Whole Foods Market to come to Columbia Heights? You can join our campaign to bring Whole Foods Market to the DC USA retail complex! The best way for you to voice your support for Whole Foods is to email Karen Riley at karen.riley@wholefoods.com. Karen Riley is the real estate coordinator for Whole Foods Market. She can demonstrate the level of our support directly to the Whole Foods team working on the negotiations. Please be as descriptive as you can in your emails. Please also cc or bcc your emails to Ms. Riley to us at info@columbiaheightsnews.org. We need to keep a running tally of how many messages have been sent to Whole Foods Market so we can gage how much more work we need to do. The more people who can email Whole Foods Market the more powerful our collective voices will be! It looks like we are facing an uphill battle but as a community we can make a difference! Please spread the word!

Friday, September 03, 2010

Whole Foods

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Whole Foods Market

Is Whole Foods Market Coming?

Written by Columbia Heights News

Tuesday, 10 January 2006

Whole Foods Market is still negotiating with developers to occupy retail space in the DC USA retail complex. Whole Foods Market has not yet signed a lease agreement and are still trying to iron out some details of a possible arrangement.

We haven't been able to reach a Whole Foods representative for comment. However, we did speak with other parties that are invovled in the negotiations, Grid Properties, Development Corporation of Columbia Heights (DCCH), and the leasing firm Newmark Knight Frank. All parties were still uncertain what the outcome would be but all of them expressed optimism. They all value Whole Foods as a very important potential tenant and are working hard to bring it to DC USA.

However, there are some issues that they are still trying to iron out. Whole Foods is concerned about opening a location that is so close to its other location in Logan Circle. The Whole Foods in Logan Circle is about 1.5 miles away from the DC USA site. Whole Foods is also concerned with the configuration of the retail space that Grid Properties is offering. A deadline has not yet been set for either party to come to a decision. Grid Properties already has enough commitments from other retailers to commence construction sometime in the spring. But it is in everyone's best interest to reach an agreement as soon as possible.

Can We Help?

When asked if the community could do anything to help bring Whole Foods to Columbia Heights, representatives from Grid Properties, DCCH, and Newmark Knight Frank all said that community involvement would be effective and appreciated. They recommended that the community express our interest directly to Whole Foods.

We think Whole Foods would be a great addition to Columbia Heights and the surrounding communities. They would not only bring high quality grocery and dining options, but also high quality jobs to Columbia Heights. They have been voted one of the "Best Places to Work" by many media outlets. Whole Foods Market has been a powerful force in reshaping communities. It has been instrumental in transforming Logan Circle from an unsafe, somewhat seedy part of town to a sprawling, sought-after community.

What Do You Think?

We would like to get some feedback from you. How many of you support Whole Foods coming to Columbia Heights? Please contact us or take our poll to the right. If there is substantial interest, we would like organize a campaign to tell Whole Foods how much support it has from the community. We can make a difference. Demonstrating community support could be just the catalyst Whole Foods needs to ink the deal with DC USA. You can read about how community members were able to rally together to bring Whole Foods (formerly "Fresh Fields") to Logan Circle in 1999...

"[Fresh Fields] began eyeing a site on the corner of V and 13th streets NW. But when a group of Logan Circle citizens -- white Victorian home rehabbers -- learned of Fresh Fields' interest, they launched a campaign to persuade the company to consider P Street instead. The group produced a 52-page demographic study that showed the 1997 market price of a home within half a mile of the P Street site was $342,000. It flooded Whole Foods' headquarters in Austin, Tex., with more than 3,000 written pleas."

Source: Palace of Plenty - April 21, 2001 - The Washington Post.

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Last Updated ( Wednesday, 14 March 2007 )

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