Upscale food chain Whole Foods and Detroit Mayor Dave Bing announced last week that the company would open a new 20,000-square-foot store in the city in 2013.
The development project is estimated to cost $10.7 million and will be line to receive a total of $4.2 million in city, state and federal incentives, according to local reports.
Whole Foods said the new store would mean between 60 to 75 new jobs.
“We’re starting to build a lot of positive momentum in the city and the addition of Whole Foods is just one of the continuing building blocks,” Bing said last Thursday at a press conference announcing the opening.
Bing said Detroit residents spend $200 million a year on groceries outside the city.
Most of the area’s large supermarkets are located outside the city. The only other national grocer in the city is deep discounter Aldi Inc., according to the Detroit News.
The store will be located in the midtown area, which is the city’s most affluent neighborhood. The site is near the Detroit Medical Center, which is in the midst of a major renovation.
The project will reportedly cost $10.7 million, and could receive $1.5 million in local and community foundation money, $1.2 million in federal tax credits, $1.5 million in state incentives and $500,000 from Wayne County.
Whole Foods said the incentives would go to the site developer, not the company.
The president of the Detroit Economic Growth Corp. told Crain’s Detroit Business that almost every inner city has to use incentives to lure national retailers.
“Our goal is to not have to do this in the future,” president George Jackson said.
