Exclusive: Magnolia Voice has learned that the Whole Foods Market under construction on 15th Ave. will not open around Thanksgiving of this year as scheduled, and it may be another year before the store greets shoppers. Also, the market’s retail space will be downsized.
The developer confirms that Whole Foods told them to finish the building exteriors and then stop construction. Crews should be done in four or five weeks and then work will shut down. The developer says it’s not clear when construction will begin on the store interior and it could be October, 2009 before the store opens.
The problem appears to be related to cash flow problems for Whole Foods. In August, Whole Foods reported its third-quarter net income dropped more than 30 percent largely due to the tough economy that hurt consumer spending. At that time the company said it would open fewer stores next year.
The developer was surprised when Whole Foods decided to delay the project but believes the store will still open. “They are still committed to the location; they’ve put a serious amount of money into it already. They are committed to opening the store but we don’t have a date and it could be stalled for up to a year,” says Tim Russell of TRF Pacific Commercial Real Estate.
Russell also confirmed that Whole Foods is scaling back the size of the store from 50,000 square feet to around 38,000 square feet. That will make the store smaller than the other Whole Foods in Seattle on Westlake. They plan to rent the extra space next to the store to another tenant.
There are tenants confirmed for the other buildings on the site, including Pete’s Coffee, Subway, Verizon and a dry cleaner. The delay of Whole Foods does not affect those openings.
The Interbay Whole Foods is listed as a store in development on the company website but no opening date is given. A spokesperson for the company said the decision to postpone was made to allow them to focus on other stores and she would not have any more details about the project until early November.
Here is what the development will look like when it is finally finished.
