Whole Foods Market: “Another testimony” to the growth of the urban core | Jax Daily Record | Jacksonville Daily Record

While a spokesperson for Whole Foods Market said May 3 that the organic and natural food grocer had no details to share about the One Riverside Jacksonville store, retail brokers in the area say it will draw inspiration from the neighbourhood, the city center and the Southbank.

Plus, Whole Foods does its homework before choosing a site.

“Whole Foods choosing Brooklyn as its third location in the region is further testament to the growth we are seeing in this retail area and in the urban core as a whole,” said Carrie Smith, senior vice president of retail for the Franklin Street real estate company.

Whole Foods plans to open in the downtown Brooklyn neighborhood of Northbank.

“The market has easily become one of Jacksonville’s most desirable shopping areas, as evidenced by the amount of new development we’re seeing springing up,” Smith said May 9.

“Every facet of commercial real estate is being pulled by the market – multifamily, retail, hospitality, etc.,” she said.

“This market is on fire.”

Christian Harden, managing partner of NAI Hallmark, based at 200 Riverside Ave., welcomes the new neighbor.

“I think it solidifies Brooklyn as the premier submarket in the urban core with its top-notch amenities,” Harden said on May 6.

“But I think it serves as a fantastic amenity downtown as well. Office buildings will benefit from the convenience of another grocer on this side of Riverside Avenue.

Retail broker and representative Geneva Henderson, executive vice president of Lat Purser & Associates Inc., spoke from a professional and resident perspective.

“What a great tenant for Riverside,” she said May 6 via email.

“It will attract the city center, especially now that the city center is defined as also in the South Bank.

The Whole Foods Market is larger in size than the nearest supermarkets – The Fresh Market and Publix Super Markets Inc.

“Being a full-size grocer in this market will be great. There are just some things you can’t find in smaller stores,” Henderson said.

“Having lived in San Marco and regularly shopped at Fresh Market in Riverside, I think Whole Foods will attract a lot of those shoppers as well. Also, Whole Foods does a lot of market research and they wouldn’t go anywhere that doesn’t meet their criteria,” she said.

A Whole Foods Market spokesperson confirmed May 3 that a Jacksonville store is in development, adding that details will be shared when available.

44-year-old Austin, Texas-based Whole Foods Market plans to add its third Jacksonville location after opening the first in Mandarin and the second in Jacksonville Beach.

Atlanta-based Fuqua Development announced April 29 that Whole Foods Market would lease grocery space from its $250 million apartment, retail and restaurant project.

The developer paid $25 million on Feb. 4 for the 18.8-acre site at 1 Riverside Ave. which housed the campus of the Florida Times-Union.

The grocery store is planned on the lot where the five-story, 55,500-square-foot Times-Union office building was demolished. The last piece of the structure fell on May 3.

Work is now shifting to the three-level, 223,000 square foot production building.

Fuqua said in February that the demolition and cleanup should be completed by July.

Construction of the first phase of One Riverside could begin in late summer.

Fuqua said in February that the first phase of One Riverside is expected to open in the summer of 2024. The second phase could start in late 2023 or early 2024.

Whole Foods is in the first phase.

A brochure from the site of leasing representative Colliers published before Fuqua Development’s announcement shows that an unidentified grocer will lease approximately 43,000 square feet of space.

Fuqua Development sold part of the property to TriBridge Residential for apartment development and 4.95 acres to the city for park space and the restoration of McCoys Creek.

Whole Foods at Jacksonville Market

Whole Foods Market has been shopping in the area for over 14 years.

He opened his first store in Jacksonville in the Mandarin Landing mall at 10601 San Jose Blvd. in 2008. It is the largest of its three local stores at 51,000 square feet.

Whole Foods Market opened its 40,000 square foot store in Jacksonville Beach in October 2020 at 2050 S. Third St. in the Pablo Plaza Mall

Whole Foods Market claims to have over 500 retail and non-retail outlets in the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom.

Amazon.com paid $13.7 billion in cash for Whole Foods in 2017.

Whole Foods Market stores vary in size.

In September 2021, Whole Foods Market opened a 44,760 square foot store in Avon, Connecticut.

Features of the Connecticut store, similar in size to the One Riverside location, include:

Whole Foods says all foods on the market must meet standards banning hydrogenated fats, high fructose corn syrup and more than 100 flavorings, colors, sweeteners and other ingredients commonly found in foods.

Additionally, all beauty and body care products must meet the company’s Body Care Standards, which prohibit more than 100 commonly used ingredients, including phthalates, parabens and microbeads.

Amazon Prime members who shop at Whole Foods Market have access to year-round benefits, such as weekly discounts and an additional 10% off hundreds of in-store sale items.

Curbside pickup is available at all Whole Foods Market stores.

A growing territory

Whole Foods Market joins a Brooklyn neighborhood that has added apartments, offices, corporate offices, hotels and other projects, particularly in the past decade.

Riverside Avenue already has two grocery stores. One Riverside Whole Foods Market will be the largest of the three.

Jeff Fuqua helped develop the first two grocery stores on Riverside Avenue.

He was president of Sembler Company when it developed the 28,857 square foot Riverside Publix, which opened in 2002 at 2033 Riverside Ave., about 2 miles west of One Riverside Jacksonville.

It has also partnered with Jacksonville-based Regency Centers Corp. to develop the Brooklyn Station on Riverside center anchored by The Fresh Market.

This 20,218 square foot grocery store opened in 2014 at 150 Riverside Ave., across from One Riverside.

The neighborhood also adds a potential buyer’s market.

Colliers’ One Riverside Jacksonville brochure says approximately 83,000 people will live within 3 miles by 2025, along with 91,200 day workers.

The average household income in 2021 is nearly $71,000

According to Downtown Vision Inc., there are more than 3,600 units among 23 multifamily properties on Northbank and Southbank and in LaVilla and Brooklyn.

Others are expected.

Among them, north of Brooklyn Station on Riverside, Jacksonville Beach-based Trevato Development Group is working on a four-block redevelopment plan with 1,350 apartments and about 40,000 square feet of retail development.

One Riverside will also attract buyers.

Fuqua’s release says current plans for the first phase of One Riverside include 270 multi-family units, a riverside restaurant, retail and structured parking.

The second phase will include an additional 115 multi-family units, at least two riverside or creekside restaurants, 15,000 square feet of retail space and potentially a marina.

Colliers Senior Vice President Matthew Clark and Partners Sam Middlekauff and Olivia Steinemann are leading retail leasing efforts for Fuqua.