Whoa! People in our area have been wanting Whole Foods for years, but now it looks like that might actually happen.
The Washington Business Journal reports that Whole Foods will be a tenant in a new development near Howard University at the corner of Florida Avenue and Sherman Avenue NW. The development is called the Griffith, and will include 370,000 square feet of residential space, including affordable units, and 50,000 square feet of retail.
We originally heard about this project about two years ago, when the store was originally supposed to be a Harris Teeter. Not much has happened since, though, due to some disagreements between developers and the city, but maybe this news means it will be underway soon. The address of the building is 975 Florida Avenue NW.
The building is being developed by MRP Realty and the JBG Companies, both big local real estate firms. JBG, if you recall, is the firm behind the hip-looking D-City newspapers that attempted to brand the 14th and U Street area “14th and Shaw.” They also built Louis, Atlantic Plumbing, the Shay and other big buildings in the area.
But anyway, this sounds awesome. Folks have been asking and hoping for a Whole Foods for years — when grocer Ellwood Thompson’s pulled out of opening in DCUSA, the hope, and rumor, was that Whole Foods would open instead. That didn’t happen, but now southern Columbia Heights, Park View and Pleasant Plains will have their own WF at which to shop.
The timeline is unknown for the project.
I’m pretty excited — except, of course, that Whole Foods is also known as “Whole Paycheck” because it’s not cheap. I guess I had better shop in moderation.
Here’s one of the early renderings.
