It aint over until it’s over. It appears that the deal to
bring Whole Foods Markets to the former Rouse Company headquarters building in Columbia Town Center is not dead…yet anyway. Despite the
pronouncement back in March that the deal had effectively “stalled,” John DeWolf, Howard Hughes Senior Vice President, has continued to aggressively pursue the specialty grocer.
Last month a knowledgeable source informed me that
negotiations were ongoing and now John seems to have confirmed that. A
slide presentation given to the Columbia Council in an open meeting last week included
pictures of the Rouse building with the Whole Foods logo gracing the façade. He made
it clear to the council that they were still trying to get a deal done.
So what’s the deal?
Why is this taking so long?
I was thinking that maybe Whole Foods just isn’t feeling the HoCo loco love yet. I mean look at how we gushed over Wegmans, years before they
even opened! If I were Whole Foods I’d be wanting to feel a little of that love
too.
Where’s the “I Want a
Columbia Whole Foods” facebook page?
This sounds like a job for HowChow…