Whole Foods Market

Lincoln-Ashland Belmont LLC
30,000 s.f.
Chicago, Illinois

This building is part of a truly mixed-use project within this Retail and Residential Loft Planned Development, spread across two blocks. The north block features a new 30,000 s.f. Whole Foods grocery store beneath a three-level, 300 car parking structure. The south block includes an 8-story, 90 unit residential loft rehab project with approximately 50,000 s.f. of ground floor retail. The basement level on both blocks functions as a residential parking garage for the loft building and is connected by a tunnel spanning beneath the public street. In an attempt to reduce the impact of the parking structure and direct the observer’s focus onto the grocery store, the garage is nestled discreetly between four- 55-foot towers, placed prominently at each corner, serving to counter the horizontal emphasis of the parking decks. These towers house vehicle ramps, stairs and elevators and are punctuated with large glass openings to provide natural light and improve security. Serving to blend both new and old, the grocery store is clad in a buff colored brick with classical stone accents in order to reinforcing the interdependency of these two blocks and create a sense of place.