As Williamsburg has transformed from derelict industrial district to artists’ bohemia to ground zero for Brooklyn gentrification, one eyesore has remained on Bedford Avenue. No, not the ugly condos on all sides, but a hulking burned out warehouse at the corner of North Fourth Street. Well, it will now become the holy grail of BroBo living: a Whole Foods.
According to the Post, the lot has just been sold for the nth time, for $26 million, and the new owners plan to replace an earlier plan for a Marshall’s—blech—with a Whole Foods and a New York Sports Club on one of Williamsburg’s primest corners. The Bedford Cheese Shop and beer-spilling Duane Reade are right across the street.
Reps for the developers would not confirm the plans, nor is this the first time there have been rumors of a Whole Foods in the Burg, which has reportedly been looking in the neighborhood for some time. Spots like the Edge and North Side piers have been talked about, as well as big lots closer to the waterfront.
At 39,000 square feet, this will be the smallest Whole Foods in the city, less than the 50,000-square-foot store in Union Square or the roughly 70,000 footers at Columbus Circle in Tribeca. This might even be Brooklyn’s first Whole Foods, given that the controversial Gowanus store, which measures 52,0000 square feet, has a lot of construction work ahead of it. Then again, so does this project, including demolition of the bombed-out structure and construction not only of the grocer and gym but also luxury rentals above them as part of the 150,000-square-foot development.
So Williamsburg is now officially over, right? Long live Bushwick!
