The Parks Welcomes Whole Foods

By Alex Koma – Staff Reporter, Washington Business Journal December 13, 2019

It may not be Wegmans, but the Parks at Walter Reed has its grocer — Whole Foods Market has signed on to join the massive upper Northwest D.C. development.

The Amazon-owned grocery chain will occupy 40,000 square feet in the base of one of the development’s mixed-use buildings, the project’s backers announced Friday. Dubbed “The Hartley,” the building will also include 323 rental units and will be one part of the town center at the heart of the development.

Whole Foods is now the first large retailer to announce plans to move into the Parks at Walter Reed, which will ultimately include 3.1 million square feet across the old Army medical center campus. The project’s master developers — a partnership of Hines, Urban Atlantic and Triden Development Group — are hoping the news ignites a surge in interest in what is currently the largest active project in the District.

“We know that Whole Foods does tend to raise the caliber of the entire project,” Katie Wiacek, managing director at Hines, said in an interview. “They’re really just at the perfect scale for our site.”

Wiacek said Whole Foods has shown interest in Walter Reed for years — the chain eyed the site even as Wegmans expressed interest in the property. Wegmans ultimately opted for a spot in the Fannie Mae headquarters redevelopment in 2017, opening the door for Whole Foods.

John Falcicchio, D.C.’s interim deputy mayor for planning and economic development, said Mayor Muriel Bowser took a personal interest in pursuing the grocer. He said she led the chain’s former co-CEO, Walter Robb, on a personal tour of the site, in addition to others around the District, back in 2016.

Additionally, Falcicchio said Bowser and her successor in Walter Reed’s Ward 4, Councilman Brandon Todd, wooed the grocer during the District government’s annual trip to Las Vegas for the International Council of Shopping Centers’ conference. Falcicchio argued those meetings were essential in helping officials build strong ties with Whole Foods.

“It’s safe to say that Christmas came early for Ward 4,” Falcicchio said. “This is another great, healthy food option along Georgia Avenue.”

Wiacek said the grocer will take up the majority of the 60,000 square feet of retail in the Hartley, and the rest will be occupied by a yet-to-be-revealed junior anchor, in addition to two smaller retailers. Wiacek envisions a boutique fitness studio and small coffee shop or wine bar for those spaces.

“This is a big milestone for us because it does kick off this next stage of retail leasing,” Wiacek said. “People knowing who that grocery store is will help with the condos and lease up in future phases too.”

An apartment building set aside to provide housing for veterans became the first section of the Parks to open earlier this year, and it will be followed by two residential buildings on the southeast corner of the property, along Georgia Avenue NW.

Next comes the town center, including three mixed-use buildings. Work on the Hartley is currently set to kick off next year and conclude by 2022.

Eventually, the developers also hope to convert an old hospital building on the site into office or hotel space. They’re hoping to have the entire project either under construction or completed by 2025.

In tandem, Children’s National Health System is hard at work on a new research facility on another section of the Walter Reed campus.