Whole Foods In Again

According to sources in the know, Whole Foods, the world's largest retailer of natural and organic foods, reached a new agreement on Friday to resume plans for opening a store at Willits Town Center in Basalt.  It is not yet official if the size of the store originally planned for, which was 44,000 square feet, is to remain the same or what the projected opening date will be.  Both the developer, Joseph Freed & Associates (JFA) and Whole Foods' representatives previously stated that a renewed agreement would most likely entail a smaller store, perhaps more of a boutique market size with less than 30,000 square feet, due to current economic conditions. The original plan for opening was early 2010, but the completion of the shell of the store was stalled by the developer, who failed to turn it over to Whole Foods by June 2009.  With the estimated original build-out time frame of ten to twelve months, the earliest expected opening date we guess is next summer, assuming JFA can get the shell completed for Whole Foods by this summer. An official statement by JFA is expected early next week. Add Comment