Whole Foods Signs Lease for Move Into Chappaqua Crossing
Whole Foods Market has signed a lease to move into a new 40,000-square-foot space at Chappaqua Crossing should developer Summit/Greenfield receive a required zoning change and site plan approval for the project.
The nation’s leading organic and natural food retailer announced the lease agreement on Wednesday about six months after representatives for the developer made public that Whole Foods was the supermarket of choice to anchor the 120,000 square feet of retail space proposed for the former Reader’s Digest property.
This week’s announcement came after Whole Foods’ second quarter earnings report was released on Tuesday. The Chappaqua site is one of nine leases signed for new stores nationwide, according to the company’s website.
“We are delighted to have Whole Foods Market coming to Chappaqua Crossing,” Summit Development President Felix Charney said in a prepared statement. “There is no question that Whole Foods Market is a leading brand not only in the world of organic food markets but in the entire supermarket industry.”
Terms of the lease were not released, including whether there’s any provision that would allow Whole Foods to break the deal if approvals aren’t granted by a certain date.
Geoffrey Thompson, a public relations spokesman for Summit/Greenfield, said Whole Foods has been eyeing the site since shortly after members of the previous New Castle Town Board commented that they would like to see a new supermarket open as part of a larger retail project at the site. Chappaqua has been without a supermarket since D’Agostino on King Street near Route 117 closed in 2011.
Thompson said that the company has viewed Chappaqua as an extremely attractive market.
“I think Whole Foods sees that this is the type of community that is capable of supporting this store, ” Thompson said. “Whole Foods doesn’t open in any old place. The demographics have to be there.”
Summit/Greenfield submitted a revised Preliminary Development Concept Plan to the town in early April that would see the supermarket housed in a new freestanding building that also contains another 10,000 square feet of space. The remaining 70,000 square feet of retail space and the previously approved 111 residential units would be laid out as part of a traditional neighborhood concept.
Charney said other announcements are expected that include bringing a “world class fitness facility” and other features to the property.
Whole Foods currently operates about 375 stores in the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom, including 14 in New York. Of those, there are three in Westchester–White Plains, Port Chester and Yonkers.
Martin has more than 30 years experience covering local news in Westchester and Putnam counties, including a frequent focus on zoning and planning issues. He has been editor-in-chief of The Examiner since its inception in 2007. Read more from Martin’s editor-author bio here. Read Martin’s archived work here: https://www.theexaminernews.com/author/martin-wilbur2007/
