Whole Foods Market is coming to the Old Town neighborhood, and will take over the location once used by the Treasure Island supermarket.
The Texas-based chain, which specializes in organic foods and already has 10 Chicago locations, signed a lease for the building at 1639 N. Wells St., according to Ald. Brian Hopkins, 2nd. Treasure Island shuttered its Old Town grocery in 2018.
The new Whole Foods will complement a major residential development getting underway just to the south. Developer Fern Hill won approval in April from the Chicago City Council to construct a 349-unit apartment tower called Old Town Canvas at the corner of North Avenue and Wells Street.
“Old Town residents have consistently emphasized the importance of returning a full-service grocery store to this location,” Ray Clark, president of the Old Town Triangle Association, said in a statement. “This lease provides welcome certainty about the site’s future.”
A lot of details need to be ironed out, Hopkins said. There is no firm opening date for the new grocery, or information on what sort of reconstruction Whole Foods needs to do at the vacant property.
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“From the beginning of the redevelopment review, I was clear that restoring a full-service grocery store to this location had to be a priority,” Hopkins said. “Whole Foods Market is an established operator with the capacity to serve the neighborhood for the long term. There is still work ahead, but the signed lease is a concrete and welcome step forward.”
Rachel Malish, a spokesperson for Amazon, which purchased Whole Foods Market in 2017, confirmed the company had signed a lease, but did not provide any other details.
Fern Hill’s planned development sparked controversy. The site was for years used as a parking lot for the nearby Moody Church, and some neighbors said a giant new apartment tower would choke surrounding streets with traffic and harm Old Town’s small-town feel.
Other neighbors said the city was in dire need of new housing, and spoke in favor of the development plan.
Hopkins ultimately backed Fern Hill after the developer scaled back its original proposal for a 500-unit skyscraper. Walgreens also agreed to continue operating on the site, and incorporate its store into the new apartment building.