Northwest Atlantic inks 36,000 s/f for Whole Foods, World-Wide Group

According to Northwest Atlantic, it has completed the signing of a 38,000 s/f retail lease for Whole Foods at 250 East 57th St. between 2nd and 3rd Aves. on the East Side. Groundbreaking for the new building that will also house PS 59 and the High School of Art and Design, recently took place. Whole Foods and the landlord, World-Wide Group began discussions on this site back in 2006. According to Chase Welles, executive vice president of Northwest Atlantic, "We had a deal signed in 2008, but when the economy went south the landlord couldn't get financing. Over the last year we reworked the deal for a smaller building that the developer was able to construct. We got the lease signed a few months ago." "This is an obvious location for Whole Foods," said Jacqueline Klinger, vice president at Northwest Atlantic, who also worked on the deal. "The affluent and underserved residential community combined with the office density for daytime population make this site a great choice for Whole Foods first East Side store." Northwest Atlantic has worked with Whole Foods for over ten years. "We handle their Manhattan, Boroughs, and New Jersey locations," said Welles. "This is our twelfth Whole Foods deal." Whole Foods was founded in 1980 in Austin, Texas. Today it is one of the world's leaders in natural and organic foods with over 270 locations in North America and the United Kingdom. Their N.Y.C. locations gross more per s/f than any other in the chain. The groundbreaking ceremony was an important event for the neighborhood. Members of Whole Foods, Northwest Atlantic, as well as chancellor Joel Klien, were in attendance for the ceremony.