Whole Foods aims to open by Thanksgiving
Whole Foods, one of the cornerstones of the Siena at St. Clair retail and residential development that is being built on Route 19 across from South Hills Village mall in Upper St. Clair, could be open by Thanksgiving, a township official said.
“We had a recent meeting with the developer (1800 Washington Road Associates) regarding the Siena project and he said that Whole Foods would like to be open by Thanksgiving 2016,” said Adam Benigni, Upper St. Clair’s director of planning and community development.
In addition to the 40,000-square-foot Whole Foods, which would be the Austin, Texas-based organic grocery chain’s third store in the Pittsburgh area, plans call for upscale retail and restaurants, as well as the construction of 33 residential units.
Siena at St. Clair is being built at the former headquarters site of Consol Energy, which moved to Southpointe in Cecil Township.
Work has not begun on the second portion of the project, said Benigini, adding that he was not aware of any tenants who have been signed for that section of the project.
In addition, two outbuildings are planned near Phase 2. One of those buildings is expected to house The Porch, a restaurant developed by Eat ‘n Park Hospitality Group.
There is currently one such restaurant, The Porch at Schenley in Oakland, in the area.
The restaurant bills itself as a neighborhood eatery with a menu that includes specialty salads and pizzas, burgers and soup with an emphasis on fresh food.
CBRE, the Downtown Pittsburgh commercial real estate brokerage and leasing agent for Siena, could not be reached for comment.
Construction of the Whole Foods store had been delayed by legal challenges by Giant Eagle, which has a Market District in Bethel Park, and concerns about traffic congestion.
Those issues have since been resolved.