Earlier today, a press conference announcing the opening date for Whole Foods was held across the street, catercorner from the future grocery store site at 8th and Grand in Downtown LA. The event was put on by Councilman Huizar and reps from Whole Foods who confirmed the current targeted opening date of Nov 4, 2015, which will be a Wednesday. The new 41,000 square foot grocery store will include a restaurant and bar, a coffee bar, and outdoor patio seating that will wrap around the entire corner of 8th and Grand. The front entrance will be located toward the middle of the block on the Grand Ave side just a bit south from Bottega Louie. In addition, the store sits underneath 700 luxury rental units under construction called Eighth & Grand, which will also be opening in several phases over the next year. The developer of this project is Carmel Partners of San Francisco.

The opening of Whole Foods marks a significant milestone in Downtown LA’s urban revitalization taking us to the next level of maturity. It signifies the confidence from large companies that Downtown LA isn’t just a whim or a fad, but a growing community with permanent roots being established that’s here to stay. Beyond the organic goods, Whole Foods opening downtown will have a tremendous catalytic effect by attracting more businesses and developers to invest downtown. There’s no turning back now.

To see how far we’ve come, take a look at what this Whole Foods site looked like almost two years ago when it was first announced, which was just a huge hole in the ground.

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