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Showing posts with label wholefoodsmarket. Show all posts
Showing posts with label wholefoodsmarket. Show all posts

Thursday, September 7, 2017

Tribune: Planned warehouses could bring thousands of jobs to Pullman

On Wednesday @thesixthward on instagram reposted a screen cap that is a rendering of the future warehouses expected to come near 103rd/Stony Island provided by this Chicago Tribune article. As a matter of fact, these warehouses will be closer to 111th Street near the Walmart. Below I will share the post provided by Ian Lantz who owns The Pullman Cafe.
A post shared by Ian Lantz (@ianlantzart) on

And now onto the article itself which lays out future development in Pullman:
Minneapolis-based developer Ryan Cos. and nonprofit community developer Chicago Neighborhood Initiatives said they plan multiple industrial buildings totaling as much as 1.2 million square feet on land immediately north of the Whole Foods facility. U.S. Bank, which owns the land, is also involved in the project.

The exact number of jobs will depend on the type of tenants that lease space, but the project could potentially create as many as thousands of jobs, according to 9th Ward Ald. Anthony Beale.

"This is the culmination of a lot of our work to bring more jobs to the community," said David Doig, president of Chicago Neighborhood Initiatives. "In the last 30 to 40 years this area has lost tens of thousands of jobs, which has been a source of the area's decline. Jobs are important in rebuilding the area."

Construction of the more than 50-acre complex, called Pullman Crossings, could begin by next summer, said Tim Hennelly, Ryan's president for the Great Lakes region.

The warehouses will be along 103rd Street and Woodlawn Avenue, just west of Interstate 94 and Harborside International Golf Center.

Warehouses are the latest phase of the larger, 180-acre Pullman Park development to replace a former Ryerson Steel plant. Previous phases brought in the nearby Method Products soap factory and Gotham Greens rooftop greenhouse.

The community, which once had a dearth of shopping options, also has been boosted in recent years by a Walmart store and other retail, including Ross Dress for Less and Planet Fitness.
Tribune Graphics provided an illustration of the expected development.
There is of course more to come beyond these warehouses to come near the Walmart in Pullman:
Other construction in the area includes the 135,000-square-foot Pullman Community Center at 103rd and Woodlawn and retail buildings at 111th Street and Doty Avenue, where a Potbelly sandwich shop, a bakery and a dry cleaner will open later this year.

A visitors center to the Pullman National Monument, created in 2015 by the federal government to commemorate the neighborhood's rail-car-making past, will open in 2019, Doig said.
...
Other construction in the area includes the 135,000-square-foot Pullman Community Center at 103rd and Woodlawn and retail buildings at 111th Street and Doty Avenue, where a Potbelly sandwich shop, a bakery and a dry cleaner will open later this year.

A visitors center to the Pullman National Monument, created in 2015 by the federal government to commemorate the neighborhood's rail-car-making past, will open in 2019, Doig said.
...
The exact number of warehouses will be determined by the preferences of tenants, although the developers may decide to build without leases signed by next summer, Hennelly said. The combined cost of the warehouses could range from $50 million to $90 million, depending on the uses, he said.

Government incentives including tax increment financing, enterprise zone tax breaks and the federal New Markets Tax Credit program could fund about one-third of the warehouse development's cost, Doig said.
Here's hoping these developments will prove to be a boon for Pullman and Roseland.

Monday, October 31, 2016

EVENTS: Whole Foods Market community outreach & CTA red line extension history

Community outreach for the Whole Foods Market Distribution Center to be built on 111th Street will be held at Gwendolyn Brooks College Prep auditorum located at 250 E. 111th Street and enter parking at 111th & King Drive door 36. As per information noted at the 9th Ward meeting if you have a trade they are hiring at this event. To pre-register call 888.642.5023 or email pullmanpark @ sbcglobal.net

Also a public hearing for the CTA red line extension project's draft environmental impact statement (EIS) to take place at the St. John MB Church at 211 E. 115th Street on Tuesday, Nov. 1, 2016 from 5:30 - 7:30 PM.

Please refer to the flyers below



Friday, October 28, 2016

Events

5th district haunted house at 727 E. 111th St. on Oct. 31 from 4 PM to 8PM all children must be accompanied by an adult

Community outreach for the Whole Foods Market Distribution to be built on 111th Street held at Gwendolyn Brooks College Prep auditorum located at 250 E. 111th Street and enter parking at 111th & King Drive door 36. As per information noted at the 9th Ward meeting if you have a trade they are hiring at this event. To pre-register call 888.642.5023 or email pullmanpark@sbcglobal.net

This information was provided at the 9th ward meeting on Tuesday.

Wednesday, October 5, 2016

Chicago Tonight: Whole Foods Brings Economic Development, Lower Prices to Englewood

Cross-posted from The Sixth Ward

Chicago Tonight did a story about the new Whole Foods Market Englewood that opened on Wednesday. Since this development was announced in 2013, there were plans to keep prices down at this store. It appears that they've kept their promise:
“Definitely there are lower prices here and some very reasonable prices. For an example, whole milk is $1.99 a gallon here, and it’s roughly $4 a gallon in our other locations,” said Michael Bashaw, regional president of Whole Foods. “I think you can go all through the store and look at commodity, day-to-day items that you need to feed your family, and you’ll find those good values.

“We are passing on the benefit of being here in Englewood … the rents are cheaper here, and so our operating costs are lower and that allowed us to have lower retails.”
The dreaded "G" word has come up in this excitement and it appears from this quote from Andrea Natay of RAGE that it's not a concern, “Whole Foods coming into the community does not equal gentrification. Whole Foods coming into the community equals great change. A great, positive change, at that.

Also consider the fact that 63rd & Halsted had once been an important commercial hub as stated on Chicago Tonight which went into decline during the 1960s and 1970s. We see a fall and now a rebirth.

Speaking of that, it's funny how before 2013 another member of RAGE - in fact the founder - was on WCIU calling for a Whole Foods in Englewood and then guess what it happens. If only I could find that video and preserve it as it had been posted here but is no longer available online. A self-fulfilling prophecy?

Disclaimer: One of the bloggers at The Sixth Ward is a Whole Foods Market team member.

Friday, September 30, 2016

VIDEO: Whole Foods Englewood and Starbucks Grand Opening

Cross-posted at The Sixth Ward

[VIDEO] JP Paulus was at the grand opening of the new Whole Foods Market Englewood on Wednesday morning. Hopefully he'll be ready to share his thoughts on this historic and exciting occasion at the intersection of 63rd & Halsted.

There are a few shots shared on ig regarding the grand opening provided by this blogger. Unfortunately I didn't get there in time for the grand opening and arrived just as the rain got heavier.

In the meanwhile, artistmac was there to shoot 33 minutes of video of the grand opening. He did this previous with the opening of Walmart stores in West Chatham and Pullman also. He was also there for the ground breaking at Englewood Square which took place in 2014.

Anyone else visited the store on the first day? How was your experience on the first day? Will the Englewood shop be your store in the future?

DISCLOSURE: One of the bloggers here at The Sixth Ward is a Whole Foods Market team member.

Tuesday, April 12, 2016

Walking through Pullman

107th & Cottage Grove
 On a wet day I decided to take a walk into the Pullman neighborhood. I never ventured from the main thoroughfares, just walks along most of the periphery until I got to Walmart. Then upon leaving Walmart the walk ended at 111th and Michigan where I hopped on a bus to go back north.

Took some shots along the way. Some of the sights that I saw when I finally arrive at my destination. Unfortunately it wasn't a bright sunshiny day it was raining. Hopefully when the weather is nice on a day in the future this is something I can try again. Perhaps even venture into those areas of great interest to me architecturally and as a budding urbanist.

Just for the sake of it, here's a pic below of the future site of the Whole Foods Distribution facility and you also see in the background he Methods plant in the back.
720 E. 111th Street
720 E. 111th Street
I do hope the put a sidewalk here when this facility is finally constructed. This is the same area from that second snapshot.
720 E. 111th Street
I hope for nicer weather in the future so that I can do this again and have more documentation of the sights. There are more to share from this day, hopefully you will see in the near future.

Saturday, April 2, 2016

#Aldertrack: Re-elect Anthony Beale for 9th Ward Alderman in 2015

[VIDEO] I missed this almost four minute video - produced by Urban Broadcast Media - from last year in the midst of last year's city elections. Alderman Anthony Beale made his case for another term as 9th Ward Alderman.

The Alderman paints a picture of a deserted area when he was first elected in 1999 to a much more thriving ward which includes a Walmart and a Methods plant at the Pullman Park Development. In addition to improvements to Gwendolyn Brooks College Prep High School. If he runs again in 2019 he can also add a Whole Foods Market distribution center in the Pullman National Monument community.

Sometimes, I wish he had more of a social media presence or at least someone around him that has a mind for this. He has an FB page that's often updated, he also has a twitter that he could use, and I would also dare say this video is posted to his YouTube account that could be utilized further. That is he could post a few more videos on YouTube although he needs not have to speak to the camera.

I recognize politics is as much a performance as anything. It would be cool if we saw someone from his office record his comments regarding the Whole Foods distribution center. The only way I found out he said anything is not through our local mainstream media, but through a neighborhood paper.

All the same, I can beg the question as to how effective this video was to re-elect Anthony Beale. How did this video get shared did the mainstream media see it and share it? Did it get much play in social media? Better yet did Aldertrack share it in the lead-up to the 2015 elections last year?

Monday, March 21, 2016

More media on the Pullman Whole Foods distribution center #teamwholefoods


Cross-posted via The Sixth Ward

ABC 7 did a story on this Thursday
And then they noted an information session for those interested in a job at the coming Whole Foods Englewood store expected to open this fall. That event should've been held Thursday night at Kennedy King College (@ 740 West 63rd Street).

The Tribune was there at a presser at the site located near 720 E. 111th Street. If you want to forgo reading that article there's a video there you can watch. It shows comments made by Michael Bashaw the Midwest region President of Whole Foods flanked by Mayor Rahm Emanuel & 9th ward Alderman Anthony Beale.

Thursday, March 17, 2016

Whole Foods Market distribution facility coming to Pullman

The map above were you see that red marker, a Whole Foods Market distribution center is expected to be built there.
Whole Foods plans to build a distribution facility in the Pullman neighborhood on the South Side that would employ 150 people.

The 140,000-square-foot facility will be at 720 E. 111th St., according to the city of Chicago. The site is currently vacant.

The center, to open in early 2018, will replace an existing Munster, Ind., facility and will serve up to 70 Whole Foods stores in the Midwest and Canada, according to the city.

The city "will consider approximately $7.4 million in tax-increment financing assistance" for the project, according to a statement. The subsidy is being considered "to ensure the site was competitive with the existing facility in Indiana," the statement said.

The Whole Foods distribution center will be built on a 17-acre site owned by a venture of Chicago Neighborhood Initiatives, a unit of Minneapolis-based U.S. Bank, CNI President David Doig said in an email. Doig's real estate company will prepare the site for an industrial developer, which will build the distribution center and then lease it to Whole Foods.

The facility will be able to handle cold and dry storage and will have office space, CNI said.
More on the future site of the facility and adjacent properties:
The former Ryerson property also includes a Method soap factory that opened about a year ago and includes a Gotham Greens farm on its roof.

Doig's CNI also developed a new shopping center on the site anchored by a Wal-Mart big box store, and more retailers plan to open stores there. The neighborhood also received a boost about a year ago, when President Barack Obama designated the area a national monument, citing its manufacturing and labor history.

You may have seen this vid below on CBS 2 this morning, BTW