CWE to get new apartments and a Whole Foods grocery

Years of inactivity at a Central West End corner that neighbors called a mosquito pit will soon come to an end with construction of an apartment building that will house a coveted tenant: a Whole Foods grocery.

Bruce Mills, whose Mills Properties is the project's developer, said he expects work to begin by early 2013. He said that erecting the seven-story building at 100 North Euclid Avenue will take 22 months.

Mills, the company's chief executive, said this week he has from Whole Foods Market a letter of intent to occupy the entire first floor, encompassing 30,000 square feet.

"We've been working on this for quite a while," he said. "I will get excited the day the shovels start moving dirt."

Kate Klotz, a Whole Foods spokeswoman, said Thursday the company does not discuss new locations until leases are signed.

The Whole Foods in the Central West End would be the grocery chain's third in the St. Louis area. The others are in Town and Country and Brentwood. Mills said the city store will be much like the one in Brentwood.

Whole Foods is a high-end grocery that features organic and natural foods, plus a wide range of prepared dishes.

From its health-food roots in the late 1970s in Austin, Texas, the chain has grown by expansion and acquisition to more than 300 stores in the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom. The company, still based in Austin, says sales last year topped $10 billion.

Much like Trader Joe's, a decision by Whole Foods to open a grocery can signal that the chosen neighborhood has crossed a threshold of affluence and desirability.

"I've had calls from people thanking me for increasing their property values," said Mills, chuckling.

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CWE to get new apartments and a Whole Foods grocery