One of the principal owners of the Sheraton Portsmouth Harborside Hotel confirmed the new Portsmouth Whole Foods store will be located in the hotel parking lot on Deer Street.



Chris Thompson, principal partner of Harbor Corp. LLC, said the Whole Foods store will be located in the Sheraton parking lot and will serve as the "anchor" of a redevelopment project there.



"At this time I can confirm there is a Whole Foods," said Thompson on Thursday afternoon. He said they were in discussions with Whole Foods officials about coming to the city for several months.



Thompson explained that Harbor Corp. has wanted to redevelop the parking lot area for quite some time.



"Portsmouth is the type of community where a Whole Foods fits in beautifully," Thompson said. He added that Portsmouth officials have always wanted a supermarket to be located in the heart of the downtown for quite some time. "I think it's a real coup for everybody," he added.



Whole Foods officials announced this month they will construct a 40,000-square-foot store at the site. It will open sometime in 2016 and employ 175 workers.



Thompson approached the city in the spring about a project that called for a 650-space underground parking garage, 98 new hotel rooms and some retail space at the site. He said they would share more details about the Whole Foods project and the other components of the Sheraton project in the next few weeks.

