By RACHEL STULTS
Staff Writer
The Tennessean
Article Online

Organic grocer, scheduled to open in 2009, is first to commit to community
FRANKLIN — Whole Foods Market will be the first tenant in McEwen, the new 90-acre mixed-use community in Cool Springs, developer Southern Land Co. announced Thursday.

The 45,000-square-foot store will anchor the community and be located in the southwest corner of McEwen Drive and Mallory Lane in Franklin. Construction is expected to begin next fall, and the store is scheduled to open in the fall of 2009.

"It's a very innovative, distinct type of grocery store," said Jim Cheney, a spokesman for Southern Land Co. "It lends itself to much more of an experience than grocery shopping. There's live music, coffee bars and all those things the cultural creative demographic is seeking."

The Austin, Texas, grocer is the world's largest retailer of natural and organic foods and has a store in Green Hills. The goal for McEwen is to provide retailers that are not already in the Cool Springs market, developers say. By landing Whole Foods as the first tenant, developers say they hope they'll set the stage for more quality tenants to follow.

Big plans touted

When completed, McEwen will include 950 town homes, condominiums and apartments among 1.1 million square feet of retail and office space, including a 140-room hotel, restaurants and shops.

Developers say they expect to announce more tenants soon for the $333 million community.

"A tenant like a Whole Foods is going to bring a lot of confidence to people really examining this market, because Whole Foods has proven itself successful as a brand," Cheney said. "What we hope it translates to is potential tenants noticing this is a vibrant community that's coming online very quickly."

Earlier this year, Whole Foods announced it planned to buy its smaller rival, Wild Oats Markets, and to close or relocate Wild Oats stores near planned Whole Foods locations. A Wild Oats store is near CoolSprings Galleria just a couple of miles north of the new Whole Foods site, but Whole Foods officials say the announcement does not signal changes for the local Wild Oats store.

"There are no plans for the Wild Oats store right now," said Darrah Horgan, public relations specialist for Whole Foods Market South Region. "They're both in the market and that's a great store for us."