A rendering of the planned Whole Foods 365 store in Weehawken. — Courtesy: Hartz Mountain Industries
By Joshua Burd
A crowd gathered on Tuesday to hail one of the most-anticipated additions to the Hudson waterfront, a planned Whole Foods 365 store that will be the first of its kind in New Jersey.
The 33,000-square-foot store, slated to be complete by fall 2018, will open in Weehawken within the mixed-use Lincoln Harbor development by Hartz Mountain Industries. In the process, it will mark the debut in the Garden State of a concept that offers a more affordable and convenient option than the traditional Whole Foods Market location.
Executives from the Secaucus-based developer welcomed the retailer and public officials to the site for a ceremonial groundbreaking on Tuesday, more than 30 years after Hartz Chairman Leonard Stern first acquired the Lincoln Harbor property.
“With Whole Foods 365, we feel the development has a full complement of uses, strengthening its position as a premiere live, work, shop, dine and play destination on the New Jersey waterfront,” said Gus Milano, president and chief operating officer of Hartz Mountain Industries. “We believe Whole Foods 365 fits perfectly into the overall development and we’re delighted that they share our vision and excitement for the development.”
The complex currently includes more than 1,000 residential units in operation or under construction, along with a hotel, restaurants, office space and open space — all set against the midtown Manhattan skyline. But Milano on Tuesday detailed what else is in the pipeline for the 2.5 million square-foot, 60-acre development.
Hartz plans on breaking ground on another roughly 570 residential units in the next 30 days, he said, part of another 1,200 that are in store overall. The developer is planning other additions such as a new recreational complex and additional open space.
Whole Foods also has another 365 store in development in Brooklyn, according to Christina Minardi, president of the company’s Northeast Region. They are among 15 stores overall that the company has in development for the region, with locations such as Metuchen and Bridgewater set the come online.
She noted that 365 stores elsewhere have appealed to both a younger generation and senior citizens. Whole Foods is able to offer lower prices in part because they have a smaller footprint and involve a more streamlined design process than the typical store. By comparison, the traditional Whole Foods Market in Edgewater is about 50,000 square feet.
“Whole Foods Market is proud of our long history in the New York City area and we are proud to bring our 365 store to Hudson County,” Minardi said. “Our 365 stores deliver the same quality that our customers have come to expect, but in a convenient and fun new format that provides exceptional value.”
During Tuesday’s groundbreaking, which took place at Waterfront Terrace and Riverview Drive, Milano praised town officials and professionals. Chief among them was Mayor Richard Turner, who gave credit to Stern for seeing the potential of what had been an abandoned industrial waterfront in the early 1980s.
“That started the revival of the waterfront and particularly brought Weehawken back,” Turner said.
