Columbia Heights News - Washington, DC - Whole Foods Update From Grid Properties:

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!

Saturday, May 17, 2008

Whole Foods

Latest Comments

Pete's Apizza To Open On Monday
(14 comments)
Meridian Hill Park Still Under Construction
(3 comments)
Ellwood Thompson's Continue To Pursue DC USA
(13 comments)
Mayorga Coffee
(16 comments)
Progress on Public Realm Framework
(13 comments)
Show Your Support For Ellwood Thompson's
(42 comments)
Tougher Rent Control
(2 comments)
Trader Joe's At DC USA?
(10 comments)
Meridian Hill Park Renovations
(7 comments)
Allegro Condominiums
(25 comments)

Browse the Web Faster

Home

Whole Foods Market

Whole Foods Update From Grid Properties

Written by Columbia Heights News

Sunday, 19 March 2006

Page 1 of 2

Bring Whole Foods to DC USA We had a chance to speak with with Drew Greenwald, President of Grid Properties, this past Friday and received some updates on the Whole Foods negotiations. Grid Properties is the lead developer of the DC USA retail project. Mr. Greenwald told us that the negotiations are ongoing. The major hold up continues to be the inability to provide dedicated parking at the DC USA for Whole Foods employees and customers. The Chairman and CEO of Whole Foods Market, John Mackey, has not granted final approval because of this reason. Mr. Greenwald suggests that we begin directing our email campaign to Chairman Mackey.

Grid Properties considers Whole Foods Market to be a very important potential tenant and is continuing to expend a lot of energy to bring it to DC USA. Reserving parking spaces at DC USA for particular tenants will not be possible because the entire parking facility will be publicly owned and operated. Because of the way parking will be financed, IRS imposes restrictions on not allowing parking to be open to everyone. For more information about this matter, please read one of our past postings, Parking at DC USA.

Mr. Greenwald is convinced that parking will not be an issue for Whole Foods Market should it decide to open a location in the 53,000 sq. ft. space set aside for it. There will be 1,000 parking spaces at DC USA which should be more than sufficient for all the customers and employees of DC USA. Mr. Greenwald mentioned that the peak hours that people shop for groceries do not necessarily coincide with the peak shopping hours for the other retailers that will be coming to the DC USA. This will further ensure that driving customers of Whole Foods will easily be able to find parking.

Email the Chairman of Whole Foods Market

Mr. Greenwald said that his team at Grid Properties has managed to convince almost everyone at Whole Foods Market, including the president of operations for this region, that DC USA would be an excellent potential location with or without parking. However, Whole Foods Chairman John Mackey still has not provided the final go ahead.

At this point in our campaign, we feel that the greatest impact can be achieved by writing to Chairman John Mackey directly. If you are in support of bringing Whole Foods Market to the DC USA, please email Chairman Mackey at . We strongly recommend that you copy (cc) Karen Riley ( ), the Real Estate Coordinator for Whole Foods, on the message you send to Chairman Mackey. Please be as descriptive as you can as to why you support a Whole Foods Market location in Columbia Heights. It's important that you explain why parking will not be an issue for you.

As before, we urge you to copy us (cc or bcc) on the message you send to Whole Foods Market at so that we can keep count of the messages and report the latest number to you. We would also like to make periodic compilations of all the emails sent and provide it to Grid Properties. Mr. Greenwald told us that his team can include the messages in their marketing reports and presentations to Whole Foods Market. He told us that our campaign is making a positive impact and that he appreciated our efforts. Again, we ask that you help spread the word.

Comments

Written by on 2006-06-12 12:01:04

I will soon be one of the hundreds of new residents of Columbia Heights and am thrilled that Whole Foods might be coming to the neighborhood. Like many, I will not be driving to the shopping center so lack of parking would not be an issue. I hope that Whole Foods decides to come to Columbia Heights because I think it is one of the most exciting neighborhoods of Washington, D.C. and we will need healthy products available in our neighborhood. Thank you.

Written by O on 2006-07-06 16:39:27

So what's up? Are there any news on this?

Btw, the whole site seems to have died down.. a huge pity since this was my favorite site for informative updates on developments in CH

Written by on 2006-07-09 06:17:41

It is a pity, I agree. The Columbia Heights Blog also shut down permanently it seems. It would be nice if this site enabled everyone who registers to post news stories, as that would be a way of keeping it updated / current.

Written by on 2006-07-14 10:59:14

I've just moved into Columbia Heights and am excited about the possibility of a Whole Foods in the area! Like most DC residents, I don't drive to do my grocery shopping, so am not sure why parking would be an issue.

Written by on 2006-07-14 12:23:51

I am also a Columbia Heights resident without a car but I fully believe there should be ample parking in this development. Even if most DC residents don't drive to do grocery shopping, there will be plenty that do, especially at a complex that will be near a Best Buy and a Target. To downplay or ignore the need for parking would be a great detriment to the neighborhood.

Written by GforGood on 2006-07-14 20:37:48

Err.. Tatersalad, there will be a 1000 car parking carage right under DC USA = there is ample parking! The point here is the stupidly rigid policy of Whole Foods that requires parking dedicated to their customers only.. I and most people would not give a flying f if our car could not be parked right next to the Whole Foods door..

VP, government relations, national counc
Written by on 2006-07-18 16:26:58

Dear Mr. Mackey:

I am a huge fan of Whole Foods and I shop at your stores frequently. I write to encourage you to open a location at the DCUSA complex in Washington, DC, which is the neighborhood I inhabit in Washington. Although I am relatively affluent, I do not have a car, and I do not intend to get one. I would not require parking in order to shop at a store located in the DCUSA complex, and I suspect many of my neighbors and other potential shoppers in DC would not either. Much like New York City residents, many of us DC city dwellers find car ownership to be a hassle.

I have Celiac Disease, and I have always appreciated the fact that your stores carry a plentiful selection of gluten-free products. I shop at the Whole Foods in Logan Circle and Silver Spring, but having one in Columbia Heights would be a tremendous help to me and my special diet.

I hope you and your company are able to work out an arrangement with the DCUSA authorities that clears the way for a new Whole Foods in Columbia Heights. And I hope the lack of dedicated parking for Whole Foods customers and employees does not prevent Whole Foods from opening there. As you know, the complex will have 1000 parking spaces available, which should be plenty, I would think.

Thank you for your consideration.

Best,

Scott Vinson

Written by on 2006-07-19 10:55:37

My mistake. I thought the issue was more parking. I wouldn't give a flying f either.

Is Whole Foods Really that Inflexible?
Written by Mr. D on 2006-07-23 15:22:49

Seriously, is the lack of DEDICATED parking really the only thing that is holding Whole Foods back from opening a Columbia Heights location? It seems obvious that given the amount of local support, there is a profit motive here... I just have trouble believing that despite having a 1000 space garage underneath the store, these guys would shoot themselves in the foot like this. Weird. Maybe they would be willing to hire some people to do their numbers for them.

So is there any update or not??
Written by GforGood on 2006-07-31 09:59:02

So what's going on? Are they coming or not, or is it still completely up in the air? Site owners/email campaing organizers, PLEASE update us on the situation.

Oh, and its JUST a store for crying out loud, not the epitome of all things good or evil (contrary to what many people in many other sites seem to think).

?
Written by Drew on 2006-10-27 16:02:01

I wonder if Trader Joe's has such a stringent parking policy????

<< Start < Prev 1 2 Next > End >>

Last Updated ( Wednesday, 14 March 2007 )

Search Columbia Heights News or the entire web with:

Community Forum

Search

Advanced Search