As Predicted, Whole Foods Bailing on Gowanus Site
Ten months ago we wrote a post saying that we had it on pretty good authority that Whole Foods was never going to happen in Gowanus. Yesterday, the blog Brooklyn the Borough reported—and the Brooklyn Paper later confirmed—that this was indeed the case. Whole Foods does not have immediate plans to open in Brooklyn, company…
Ten months ago we wrote a post saying that we had it on pretty good authority that Whole Foods was never going to happen in Gowanus. Yesterday, the blog Brooklyn the Borough reported—and the Brooklyn Paper later confirmed—that this was indeed the case. Whole Foods does not have immediate plans to open in Brooklyn, company spokeswoman Mara Engel Weleck said, suggesting to The Paper that the company would sell the land. What does this mean for the future of Gowanus?
Whole Foods Bows Out [Brooklyn the Borough]
Food Megastore Abandons Gowanus Site [Brooklyn Paper]
Curtains for Whole Foods? [Brownstoner]
More Delays and Changes at Whole Foods [Brownstoner]
Photo by moriah
Great site for a water theme park or an International House of Pancakes…
Lechacal: especially if we live anywhere near there — nothing like toxic waste to speed your way to the grave.
Joist, we could all be pushing daisies by the time that site is cleaned up.
And how long does the average superfund cleanup take?????
NYT – On the Gowanus Canal, Fear of Superfund Stigma, Published: April 23, 2009
“It’s very common to have the division between those who see it as terrible and those who see it as an opportunity,†said Kris Wernstedt, an associate professor of urban affairs and planning at Virginia Tech’s Alexandria campus who specializes in Superfund and brownfield issues.
Studies have shown that property values decline after a Superfund listing but rebound after the cleanup, sometimes to far higher levels, he said.
Slopefarm, I said the nimby’s got what they wanted … no Whole Foods, no big parking lot, no increased car traffic, NOT that they “caused the demise” of the project.
Don’t you know that correlation is not causation?!
Anyway, I say Super Fund it and clean it up so real re-development can start again. The City and Toll Brothers are full of crap. The City had 80 years to “fix the sewage overflow problem” … why all city money and promises now that the Feds are looking to clean it the right way?!
Lechacal well said, well written..
The What
Someday this war is gonna end…
I agree with you lechacal, but look at all the “fools” who’ve bought (and are still buying!) condos in williamsburg and greenpoint. People don’t care that much about the toxic history (and sometimes present) of a neighborhood.
Oh iz … how you sway me with your Google Maps … but wait … when I change “by car” to “walking” your link is 38 minutes each way.
The Whole Foods was meant to service Park Slope and Carroll Gardens … i.e. loaded people WALKING down from 7th Ave and such. That’s like a 50 minute walk each way to Fairway.
Yes, they were counting on car traffic from other ‘hoods but also heavy bike and foot traffic from Park Slope and Carroll Gardens. By your logic, no one should be shopping at Met Food (or whatever it’s called) on 5th Ave. in Park Slope if Fairway is so close.
Anyway, pointless to debate a dead project.
If the canal ever gets cleaned up it will experience a transformation that will make it a desirable place to live, yuppies or no yuppies.