As locals know good and well, the arrival of Whole Foods in Jersey City has been a marathon, to say the least. Since news broke in October 2020 that the organic retailer would be coming to Washington Street, there’s been little movement in the project’s development. Fear not, foodies: new signage has just gone up at the 286 Washington Street location, signaling that an opening date could (emphasis on the conditional) be near. Read on for the latest updates on Jersey City’s impending Whole Foods Market.
View this post on Instagram
Per Jersey City Upfront, Whole Foods signage has officially gone up on the exterior of the Harborside 4A building, where the Amazon-owned food retailer will be situated. Accordingly, “work on the interior has also been ongoing, but there is still no estimated opening date.” Sigh.
Jersey City Upfront also noted that, per a reader, “the second-floor cafe is near completion. Additionally, new lighting and drywall have been installed on the ground floor.” For a grocery store, Whole Foods sure is feeding us crumbs.
Whole Foods will take up approximately 47,542 square feet of space, which had formerly been occupied by HopsScotch and Five Guys. In addition, the grocery store will also build its new Northeast headquarters in the 10-story building.
“We are very excited that Whole Foods Market selected Harborside for its future Jersey City store,” Mack-Cali Realty Corporation’s Senior Vice President of Communications, Deidre Crockett, said in a press release, back in 2020.
President of the land-use consultancy Dresdner Robin, Fred Worstell, stated further, “This development at Harborside introduces necessary retail space into Jersey City’s rapidly growing downtown, at a key transport hub.”
Read More: NYC’s Peppercorn Station Opens Location in Jersey City
Bringing Whole Foods to Jersey City will surely cause just as much excitement to locals as the Trader Joe’s that opened in Hoboken on Willow Avenue in May 2017.
This will be the second Whole Foods in Hudson County. The first location opened in Weehawken’s Lincoln Harbor in July 2019 and brought an abundance of fresh produce from over 50 local producers including D’Ottavio Farms, Hepworth Farms, and Ark Foods, as well as local bakeries such as Balthazar Bakery, Abe Muffins, and Om Sweet Home.
The Austin, Texas-based chain has been in talks to be built in Jersey City for over a decade. It wasn’t until early 2019 that deals were confirmed by Mack-Cali Realty’s 2019 First Quarter report. Finally, just last month the City Council passed resolutions that involve “parking and other issues including converting Pearl Street Between Washington and Greene streets into a one-way road in order to accommodate deliveries,” as reported by TAPinto in 2020.
See More: Vegan + Gluten-Free Bakery Om Sweet Home is Relaunching Local Retail
“Jersey City has been anticipating the arrival of Whole Foods Market, and our ability to creatively retrofit Harborside 4A will make that a reality,” Crockett added. “Dresdner Robin’s survey informs the overall reconfiguration of the building, and their work securing approvals has allowed development to proceed.”
Upon opening, Whole Foods Jersey City will bring an estimated 400 jobs to the area.
To stay in the know on all local happenings, follow @thehobokengirl on Instagram and TikTok.
