Midtown Whole Foods rendering

**tetsua** · May-31-12, 10:30 AM

While you can't REALLY tell what it'll look like from the rendering, it's still nice to see something.

http://www.freep.com/article/2012053...text|FRONTPAGE

**Wheels** · May-31-12, 10:39 AM

I love the parking lot!

**erikd** · May-31-12, 10:51 AM

Strip mall architecture in the middle of the city. Yuck.

**DetroiterOnTheWestCoast** · May-31-12, 10:59 AM

Originally Posted by erikd

Strip mall architecture in the middle of the city. Yuck.

It would be so much nicer to keep the empty lot. Its a grocery store; for that it looks pretty decent. I have never seen a Whole Foods that was not an asset to the neighborhood that it is in.

**drjeff** · May-31-12, 11:19 AM

Originally Posted by erikd

Strip mall architecture in the middle of the city. Yuck.

I'm not sure what cities you've been in that have large supermarkets with no parking, but that's pretty unusual. In Detroit, with shitty public transportation, it would be completely unworkable.

Perhaps you would just like to see the parking behind the building instead of visible from the street. I'd prefer that too, but oh well.

**tetsua** · May-31-12, 01:24 PM

Originally Posted by drjeff

In Detroit, with shitty public transportation, it would be completely unworkabale.

To call Detroit's public transportation "shitty" is an insult to cities that have proper shitty public transportation lol.

**Hypestyles** · May-31-12, 08:54 PM

maybe the lot should have meters?

**Patrick** · May-31-12, 09:15 PM

Originally Posted by erikd

Strip mall architecture in the middle of the city. Yuck.

Come on homes, this isn't Williamsburg...

**jtf1972** · June-01-12, 12:49 AM

Is it just me, or would it look better if it was flipped... with the entrance close to Mack. And a little color wouldn't hurt matters either, unless you want to make cracks about them trying to make the city "white."

**WPitonya** · June-01-12, 08:19 AM

Originally Posted by jtf1972

Is it just me, or would it look better if it was flipped... with the entrance close to Mack. And a little color wouldn't hurt matters either, unless you want to make cracks about them trying to make the city "white."

I agree! That way the entrance would be more accessible to pedestrians. I think it should not only be flipped, but the entrance should be at an angle toward Mack.

**Detroitdave** · June-01-12, 08:25 AM

The city requested the lot for parking , even though there is a huge structure next door , they only have about 60 spots in that structure.You wont be able to see the lot from woodward because it faces Starbucks , so the lot is really not that big of a deal and you won't even be able to see Whole Foods from Woodward :-[[ only from the side from mack. Because of the size of the lot the front door of the store faces Starbucks and truck deliveries will be from the rear ,[[John R) . If you think about it it's the only logical way to fit it in .
You don't want trucks delivering from Woodward or Mack.

**EASTSIDE CAT 67-83** · June-01-12, 08:45 AM

Will there be Bullet proof glass at the counter? I know I know but I couldn't resist

**p1acebo** · June-01-12, 09:48 AM

Originally Posted by Detroitdave

The city requested the lot for parking , even though there is a huge structure next door , they only have about 60 spots in that structure.You wont be able to see the lot from woodward because it faces Starbucks , so the lot is really not that big of a deal and you won't even be able to see Whole Foods from Woodward :-[[ only from the side from mack. Because of the size of the lot the front door of the store faces Starbucks and truck deliveries will be from the rear ,[[John R) . If you think about it it's the only logical way to fit it in .
You don't want trucks delivering from Woodward or Mack.

This.

Although it would be nice to have the front facing a main road, it just isn't practice from where the location is going to be.

**casscorridor** · June-01-12, 10:34 AM

I've never seen a Whole Foods in a city look this suburban. This is what their stores in suburbs look like. Does anyone know any cities with WFs that look like this?

**jtf1972** · June-01-12, 12:10 PM

Combine the city likely having guidelines on what would be built, and the lower costs associated with the "suburban" style, this isn't really surprising. Whole Foods is a company that doesn't seem to have a problem reinvesting, so I wouldn't be shocked if in 10 years they have a more city-esque store built or under construction.

Detroit needs to realize that it is a city that has a diverse number of areas and plan accordingly. A development that would be great for Base Line Road & Woodward isn't likely to be an asset for Adams & Woodward. Build a dense city at the core & the outskirts of the city can be more "suburban."

Still, I look forward to shopping at Whole Foods again!

**AGinthe313** · June-01-12, 12:18 PM

A couple of Whole Food stores in NYC...

http://maps.google.com/maps?q=95+Eas...59.65,,0,-8.37

http://maps.google.com/maps?q=250+7t...34.72,,0,-8.59

**jtf1972** · June-01-12, 12:30 PM

The one on Houston has a phenomenal beer room.

My personal favorite is the Union Square location, but the ones at Columbus Circle and Tribeca were also frequent stops.

**wolverine** · June-01-12, 01:15 PM

Originally Posted by drjeff

I'm not sure what cities you've been in that have large supermarkets with no parking, but that's pretty unusual. In Detroit, with shitty public transportation, it would be completely unworkable.

Perhaps you would just like to see the parking behind the building instead of visible from the street. I'd prefer that too, but oh well.

Most whole foods urban prototypes put the parking on the roof. But since land in Detroit is practically free, a surface lot isn't surprising. But you think in a city with smash and grabs common with vehicles, parking would be in the building.....plus snow and rain.

But this has to be the lowest end design in their store portfolio which is unfortunate. That area had built up nicely with decent architecture and now this.

**Detroit68** · June-01-12, 01:54 PM

Originally Posted by wolverine

Most whole foods urban prototypes put the parking on the roof. But since land in Detroit is practically free, a surface lot isn't surprising. But you think in a city with smash and grabs common with vehicles, parking would be in the building.....plus snow and rain.

But this has to be the lowest end design in their store portfolio which is unfortunate. That area had built up nicely with decent architecture and now this.

+1

I often compare Midtown Detroit to Westwood L.A. in that a) both lack the density of other cities comparable in size and b) both favor cars over public transit [[although L.A. has a great bus system). I would have liked to have seen a Whole Foods based on the Westwood design:

Show on Google Maps

The parking structure integrates well into the cityscape and surrounding neighborhood.

**Mackinaw** · June-04-12, 11:45 PM

Failure of zoning regulations-- plenty of blame for the city planner not standing up for a premium site right at the Woodward corridor. How you plan light rail while also providing up-front parking at a site practically fronting a light rail stop is beyond me. Not to mention ugly-- put the parking in the back. Even grocery stores in suburbs like GP do that.

Not too late though, right? Write a letter to WF.

**Gistok** · June-05-12, 01:34 AM

Mackinaw... where the hell you been?

Good to have you back!

**48202** · June-05-12, 01:41 AM

The Whole Foods parking lot will be good for the businesses in the Ellington. The Ellington parking lot is always full.

**gameguy56** · June-05-12, 07:38 AM

Originally Posted by Mackinaw

Failure of zoning regulations-- plenty of blame for the city planner not standing up for a premium site right at the Woodward corridor. How you plan light rail while also providing up-front parking at a site practically fronting a light rail stop is beyond me. Not to mention ugly-- put the parking in the back. Even grocery stores in suburbs like GP do that.

Not too late though, right? Write a letter to WF.

In some ways Detroit is a bizzaro universe where we have suburbs more urban than any part of the city. Ferndale, Birmingham and GP Park have intact streetwalls of a kind that don't exist anywhere in Detroit proper.

**Wheels** · June-05-12, 08:58 AM

Originally Posted by Mackinaw

Failure of zoning regulations-- plenty of blame for the city planner not standing up for a premium site right at the Woodward corridor. How you plan light rail while also providing up-front parking at a site practically fronting a light rail stop is beyond me. Not to mention ugly-- put the parking in the back. Even grocery stores in suburbs like GP do that.

Not too late though, right? Write a letter to WF.

How do you figure Mack and JohnR will effect light rail on Woodward?

**andrew.w** · June-05-12, 10:56 PM

Even here in Chicago, the grocery stores all pretty much have parking. The independent grocer at the end of the block has a parking lot in the rear [[it's in a building built in the 1910s or 20s), the Trader Joe's a few blocks away [[new building) has a parking deck on the roof. But even here you will find stores with big parking lots out front. There is one on Division like this, despite the otherwise dense location.

As Mackinaw said, this is mostly a failure on the part of city zoning which allows parking to be put out front. If not required to do otherwise, of course Whole Foods will put their parking at the street; they want their chance driving customers to see that they have plenty of space to park, otherwise they may not bother to stop.