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Whole Foods Proposed At Chappaqua Crossing

CHAPPAQUA, N.Y. -- A Whole Foods Market is being proposed for the Chappaqua Crossing project.

Residents speak out against the Chappaqua Crossing project at a TownBoard hearing in October . A 40,000 square foot Whole Foods is being proposed for the site.

Residents speak out against the Chappaqua Crossing project at a TownBoard hearing in October . A 40,000 square foot Whole Foods is being proposed for the site.

Photo Credit: File Photo

The 40,000-square foot grocery store would be part of the retail portion of the Summit/Greenfield owned property that was proposed last year amid intense public criticism.

According to John Marwell, attorney for Summit/Greenfield, Whole Foods hopes to move in by second quarter of 2015 and hopes to get site plan approval soon.

Whole Foods would be augmented with 16,500 square feet of adjacent retail space, a 25,000 square foot retail building, a 5,500 square foot bank and 33,000 square feet of additional retail space, along with a community garden.

The news comes on the heels of the New Castle elections where Team New Castle, a group critical of Summit/Greenfield's proposals were swept into office.

Supervisor-elect Robert Greenstein, also president of the Chappaqua Millwood Chamber of Commerce, said he was not surprised by the move saying Summit/Greenfield is developing the project similar to Kings Crossing in Fairfield.

"We expected Whole Foods to be the first step in the process," Greenstein said. "I don't blame them for doing it."

Greenstein expects places like Chipotle, Five Guys and Petco, which are at Kings Crossing, to be proposed for Chappaqua Crossing. Greenstein said the town should develop a master plan before it approves anything at Chappaqua Crossing.

"Maybe we should prioritize other commercial areas like the downtown hamlet," Greenstein said. "We shouldn't approve a 120,000-square foot development based on one tenant."

At Tursday's Town Board work session, lawyers for Summit/Greenfield pushed for an up or down vote from board members on whether they would approve the Whole Foods plan.

Geoff Thompson, a spokesman for Summit/Greenfield, said board members preferred Whole Foods remain in the proposed retail space and not in a rehabbed office building. 

Summit/Greenfield said they would move Whole Foods into the proposed retail area, but would not want to go through another lengthy environmental review. Town Board members said they would discuss the matter at the next meeting.

"We really want this project to be finished," Thompson said. "We've been before this town for nine years. We've accommodated a number of supervisors. We've spent many millions of dollars on consultants, town's consultants, architects, engineers and traffic studies. We don't want to lose Whole Foods."

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