Whole Foods vs Trader Joes

[Rabelais]

[MÇA]

Whole Foods Jersey City Is Now Official
Whole Foods Jersey City will open on the corner of Washington and Columbus
By LJ -
September 12, 2020

Signage for Whole Foods Jersey City is finally up. The organic grocer has posted a “coming soon” sign at its future home on the corner of Washington Street and Columbus Drive (also known as Harborside 4A).

Harborside 4A is a 10-story building with a parking garage that spans seven stories. Whole Foods Jersey City will take up roughly 47,542 square feet of space from the complex, including the spaces formerly occupied by HopsScotch and Five Guys.

“Our neighborhood, and Jersey City as a whole, has been in need of a quality, organic grocer for some time now and we are very excited to be the ones to make that a reality,” said Mack-Cali SVP of Communications, Deidre Crockett.

The Amazon-owned grocer will also open its new Northeast headquarters in Jersey City.

“The Whole Foods team have also chosen the waterfront space of Harborside 3 as their new Northeast headquarters, which supports the strength of the Jersey City market,” Crockett told Jersey City Upfront. More...

[MÇA]

Rendering Credit: Studio V Architecture

Whole Foods Update: New Details on the Proposed Metropolis Towers Project
By Darrell Simmons
July 12, 2016

When the Whole Foods announcement was made, information on the project was scarce. Other than a general idea of its location, nothing further was released. Last night, the architect and attorney representing the project presented the proposed site plan to the Harsimus Cove Neighborhood Association and Van Vorst Park Association.

A representative from Studio V Architecture started the presentation with a brief history of the site. Prior to the site’s current incarnation, Newark Avenue extended beyond Marin Blvd and cut diagonally through where Metropolis Towers sit today. For much of its existence, the area was an active retail corridor bustling with small shops much like Newark Avenue a few blocks west. In the 1950-60’s a new urban renewal trend became popular that involved creating superblocks, where planners compiled multiple city blocks, removed the intersecting streets, and created a large continuous block. Stuyvesant Town in Manhattan is a prime example of superblocks.

That’s precisely what happened on the Metropolis Towers site. Streets were removed to create a superblock with two housing towers and a large surface parking lot. According to various reports, Metropolis Towers was the first urban renewal project in the US.

Now, the needs of the city and residents have changed and it’s time for a new urban renewal project for the site.

There are two existing co-op residential towers on the site that will remain. It’s actually the owners of these co-op units developing the project. Read more

[MÇA]

Via hMAG:

MUTUALLY ASSURED GENTRIFICATION: As Hoboken Gets Trader Joe’s, Jersey City Announces Whole Foods
Posted on May 4, 2016 in hNOW, News   

It’s as though Hoboken and Jersey City are locked in a gentrification proliferation race to see who can become most like Montclair…

On the heels of Hoboken’s big Trader Joe’s reveal, Jersey City refuses to be outdone, announcing the planned development of a Whole Foods near the Grove Street PATH station.

“Really excited to share positive news that Whole Foods formally announce today they will be opening a Jersey City store,” says Jersey City Mayor Steve Fulop. “Lots of conversations to get this completed and I think it will be a huge positive for residents and visitors.”

As Hoboken celebrates its specialty foods retailer, the tone of regional one-upmanship was palpable in the Mayor’s statement.

“I said it from the beginning…” says Fulop, via Facebook, “We aren’t playing around and we all share the goal of wanting to push forward a stronger city.”

[CeeDub]

Fixed it for ya Mister Mayor.

on Facebook:

"Really excited to share positive news that Whole Foods formally announce today they will be opening a Jersey City store. Lots of conversations to get this completed and I think it will be a huge positive for residents and visitors.

I said it from the beginning... We aren't playing around and we all share the goal of wanting to push out the people who can't afford the 1% dream I'm shortselling to fund my climb to power [toward a stronger city.

This store will be located outside the Grove Street Path Station.  Fuk Yo Old Colony PathMark."

[devb]

I'm not sure I realized those parking lots were up for grabs. Will WF or the city require a parking lot for the store?

[MÇA]

[MÇA]

The building in the background looks like one of those old Montgomery Towers. Probably the only place they can shoehorn in a freestanding WF and "public park."

[MÇA]

on Facebook:

"Really excited to share positive news that Whole Foods formally announce today they will be opening a Jersey City store. Lots of conversations to get this completed and I think it will be a huge positive for residents and visitors.

I said it from the beginning... We aren't playing around and we all share the goal of wanting to push forward a stronger city.

This store will be located outside the Grove Street Path Station"

[MÇA]

Officials break ground on Whole Foods project once called Newark's 'Holy Grail'
By Dan Ivers | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com
on June 01, 2015 at 6:31 PM, updated June 02, 2015 at 7:27 AM

[...]

The crowd of about 100 politicians, investors and other stakeholders gathered at the 440,000 square-foot building Monday afternoon expressed similar sentiments, saying the project had the potential to spark a long-awaited revitalization in the area.

"This project is truly going to be transformative," said Central Ward Councilwoman Gayle Chaneyfield-Jenkins.

Newark Mayor Ras Baraka said he had vague memories of visiting stores such as Hahne's and Woolworth's as a youth, but mostly recalled the property of the blight and economic troubles that eventually came to define much of the city.

It's notoriety and prime location across from Military Park on Broad Street has drawn intermittent interest from developers over the years, though none of their plans ever gained major traction. But the construction of the 20-story Prudential office tower a block south on Broad Street gave a new spark to the project.

The former store was purchased last year by Newark-based Hanini Group in partnership with L+M Development, and its transformation is being financed with $174 million in public, non-profit and private dollars. Partners include the state Housing and Mortage Finance Agency ($66 million), New Jersey Economic Development Authority ($40 million), and $67 million in equity from Goldman Sachs, Prudential Financial, Citi and other sponsors.

The project will also receive $40 million in tax breaks approved by state officials in December.

In addition to 160 mixed-income apartments, the building will house a number of retail shops and the 29,000 square-foot Whole Foods on the ground floor. City officials have coveted the high-end supermarket for years — former Mayor Cory Booker even once called it his "Holy Grail".

It is also being touted as a way to create synergy between the neighborhood and students the nearby campus of Rutgers-Newark. Last year, the university approved a $25 million plan to lease three floors of the building to provide studio, classroom and gallery space for campus arts programs.

Bulldozers and other construction equipment could be seen on site Monday, the first signs of work officials say will create 350 construction jobs. When the site nears opening in 18 to 20 months, there are expected to be another 320 full-time, permanent openings to fill. Read more

[MÇA]

Another Whole Foods fake-out in Jersey City
By Terrence T. McDonald/The Jersey Journal
on April 02, 2014 at 2:20 PM, updated April 02, 2014 at 4:45 PM

No, Whole Foods is not coming to Jersey City quite yet.

Fans of the upscale supermarket have been hoping for years that a location would open up here, saving them a $2.50 PATH ride into Manhattan or a drive out to the suburbs. And a “Future Home of Whole Foods” sign at a construction site in the Powerhouse Arts District had some of them thinking their dreams had become a reality.

Alas, Whole Foods spokesman Michael Sinatra said the sign is indeed a hoax.

This isn’t the first Whole Foods fake-out in Jersey City. Last year, a similar sign fooled some passers-by on Jersey Avenue near Choc O Pain.

The hoax isn't relegated to New Jersey, either. In 2011, the Silver Lake section of Los Angeles also had a fake "Coming Soon! Whole Foods" sign erected at a construction site.

Sinatra said the phony signs pop up “from time to time.”

“For the most part it’s developers utilizing our name to sell space in their developments,” Sinatra said. “Sometimes, and it can certainly be flattering, it comes from folks who’d really like us to move into the community.”

Last year, Whole Foods announced it was moving into a 29,000-square-foot space in Newark. Cory Booker, the city's former mayor and now a U.S. Senator, had been lobbying for the store to come to Newark for six years.

[Bobblehead]

[JCisHome]

Right you are.  I used to go to C Town on Sip Ave and in my mind Key Foods was the same thing.  So, in other words, never mind.

[moelissa]

I like the Mom and Pop grocery stores.

[JCisHome]

They're cheaper, and would work perfectly where C Town is.

I think C Town is a private business, and apparently they're happy where they are; they won't just clear out because some people want a more upscale shopping experience.

[rghulati]

Wow. It seems like this forum has a lot of haters. If you don't want to sign the petition, then don't. There's no need to be snide!

[Bobblehead]

we've long heard loud and clear from Jersey City residents that they want a Whole Foods

[MÇA]

Is this petition still open?

I hope not.

It seems like the petition is still open; however Whole Foods has already replied -- negatively.

http://www.change.org/petitions/liz-burkhart-open-a-store-in-jersey-city-for-our-residents

[Rabelais]

Is this petition still open?

I hope not.

[rghulati]

Is this petition still open?

[stephen]

I see your point but having one thing does not mean - not having the other one. But quite the opposite. Stores like Whole Foods would only speed up the process of rebuilding the area - that is all.
We lived on UWS and Whole Foods was on our doorstep. But we still shopped at the local grocer.
People who support local - will always support local.

Whole Foods is the fast track to gentrification which is the fast track to a less interesting city. New residents will be those attracted to suburban institutions and they will also likely have in-kind demands such as owning a car and parking it curbside.

[SilveryJessica]

Fairway blows both of these places out of the water, and they are far more receptive to this kind of community, case in point the Red Hook Fairway.

[Youniq Pilates]

I see your point but having one thing does not mean - not having the other one. But quite the opposite. Stores like Whole Foods would only speed up the process of rebuilding the area - that is all.
We lived on UWS and Whole Foods was on our doorstep. But we still shopped at the local grocer.
People who support local - will always support local.

[stephen]

Want more traffic? Want to see the uniqueness that cities provide fade away? Then advocate for Trader Joe's and Whole Foods.

Full disclosure: I like these stores, a lot. But I also love cities and their unique offerings. If I felt I needed TJ's and WF's in my life so badly, I'd move to Edgewater.

[Youniq Pilates]

Jehu, you are absolutely right. The best thing and the worst think is to be near Manhattan. It is so close you can have all the fun and goodies there and come here to sleep but it does feel like it may be changing and feels like JC is becoming more of a city it deserves to be.