Whole Foods finally has revealed when it will open in Downtown Indianapolis

A Downtown Indianapolis Whole Foods that has been years in the making finally has a timeline for opening.

Whole Foods Market Inc. is planning to open at 360 E. Market St. next spring, the company revealed on Twitter. In response to a question about the company's plans, Whole Foods tweeted, "We are currently looking forward to the Market Square location opening in the spring of 2018."

That's the first time Whole Foods has offered any indication of when it expects to open its long-anticipated store in the 360 Market Square apartment tower. The building is still under construction.

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Whole Foods in 2015 announced that it would be part of the project, but has since been silent as the 28-story tower sputtered through a series of construction delays.

Whole Foods in June confirmed in a statement to IndyStar that it was still planning to open the Downtown store, after months of rumors swirling about whether the company had backed out of the project.

The Downtown Indianapolis grocery scene has shifted since Whole Foods first decided to enter the market.

Marsh owned the only two Downtown stores, but has since filed for bankruptcy and ceased operations. The Marsh store at 227 W. Michigan St. is set to become a Kroger, and the store at 320 N. New Jersey St. is continuing to operate as a Marsh under the ownership of Fresh Encounter Inc.

In addition to bricks-and-mortar grocers, online delivery services are gobbling up an increasing share of the grocery pie. That could be one reason why Whole Foods still wants to open a Downtown Indianapolis store, even as it has scaled back expansion plans across the U.S.

Whole Foods recently agreed to be acquired by Amazon.com Inc. in a deal that experts say could fuel Amazon's takeover of the grocery delivery market. Companies that already deliver groceries in Indianapolis include Shipt, which delivers products from Meijer; Fresh Thyme, which delivers products through Amazon Prime Now; Peapod and Green Bean.

The 360 Market Square project appears close to being completed, but has yet to open a leasing office. Developer Flaherty & Collins has said a leasing office should be open by the end of the summer.

Call IndyStar reporter James Briggs at (317) 444-6307. Follow him on Twitter: @JamesEBriggs.