Whole Foods to Open New South Bay Location

SAN FRANCISCO PENINSULA -- Whole Foods is coming to Sunnyvale.

Whole Foods Market, which specializes in organic and natural foods, has signed a lease for a new 52,000-square-foot grocery store in the heart of downtown Sunnyvale that would be part of a replacement for the Sunnyvale Town Center shopping mall.

Construction of the market is scheduled to break ground later this year and open early 2019.

“Whole Foods will be a terrific addition to the amenities our community already enjoys in Sunnyvale’s vibrant downtown,” Sunnyvale Mayor Glenn Hendricks said in a statement. “The Town Center is obviously a highly desirable location for businesses and residents, and we are thrilled with STC’s rapid progress toward bringing the project to completion.”

Construction's already underway in the 36-acre, mixed-use Town Center replacement development, which was acquired by venture capital fund STC Venture LLC in 2016. Real estate developer Sares Regis Group of Northern California is working to bring 198 residential apartments and 116,000 square feet of future retail and restaurant space to market in 2018.

“We are excited about restarting the redevelopment of the retail hub of downtown Sunnyvale to build an experiential shopping district to serve Peninsula and South Bay regional shoppers,” said Deke Hunter, president of real estate developer Hunter Storm. “We have exciting plans that will blend well with the downtown merchant areas and enhance the district to benefit everyone.”

Other public improvements in the works for downtown Sunnyvale by STC Venture include the reopening of Redwood Square for public use this spring, the installation of new traffic signals, and the construction of landscaped medians.

Whole Foods currently operates multiple stores in the Peninsula and Silicon Valley areas, including in Cupertino, Los Altos and Santa Clara.

Artist's rendering via SGPA Architecture & Planning