Whole Foods Market Plans New Distribution Center in South Side Chicago

By Ioana Neamt, Associate Editor

Whole Foods Market headquarters, Austin, Texas

Chicago—Whole Foods Market and Mayor Rahm Emanuel recently announced plans to build a new Whole Foods Market distribution center in Chicago’s South Side.

The 140,000-square-foot facility, to be located in the city’s Pullman neighborhood, will add 150 new jobs and serve as many as 70 Whole Foods Market locations across the Midwest and Ontario, Canada. Expected to open in early 2018, the new distribution center will join two of Whole Foods Market’s suppliers, Method and Gotham Greens, in Chicago’s Pullman neighborhood.

“Building a new Whole Foods Market distribution center in the Pullman neighborhood is a smart decision and is the next logical step in our 23-year commitment to the city of Chicago,” Michael Bashaw, Whole Foods Market Midwest regional president, said in prepared remarks. “More than just a smart business investment, this new distribution reinforces our company’s core mission.”

Whole Foods Market will also open a new store in Hyde Park this summer and another one in Englewood in the fall. The Chicago City Council will consider roughly $7.4 million in Tax Increment Financing (TIF) assistance for eligible development costs for the new distribution center, which will replace the company’s current distribution facility in Munster, Ind.

The new Whole Foods center is the latest in a series of developments moving forward in the historic Pullman District, including Method’s first U.S. factory and Gotham Green’s rooftop greenhouse, the $135 million Pullman Park retail development and a $15 million community center currently under construction.

“A little over one year ago, President Barack Obama designated the historic Pullman district as a National Monument,” said 9th Ward Alderman Anthony Beale. “Today’s event is an investment in the future—the future of Chicago and the future of the Pullman/Roseland area.”

Image courtesy of the Whole Foods Market Facebook page