Is Plan for Whole Foods in Old Town a Smoke Screen?
By Don DeBat
Thousands of Old Town neighborhood residents are gleefully doing cartwheels over the planned opening of a classy Whole Foods Market store on the 1600 North block of North Wells St. after an eight-year grocery desert.
However, many real estate insiders are skeptical about the mystery behind the sudden announcement. Is it all part of the sophisticated chess game developer Fern Hill is playing at the intersection of North Ave. and Wells?
Last week, 2nd Ward Ald. Brian Hopkins announced that Whole Foods has signed a lease at the defunct Treasure Island food store chain’s former location at 1639 N. Wells. The space has been vacant since Treasure Island shuttered all of its locations in 2018.
The 44,000-square-foot retail property is adjacent to 1600 N. LaSalle Dr., where controversial developer Fern Hill plans to build a 349-unit apartment tower. Ald. Hopkins said bringing in a new grocery store was always a priority when he evaluated the developer’s plans for the properties.
Critics wonder, is that the proposed Whole Foods lease a smoke screen to take the heat off the massive opposition to the Fern Hill high-rise.
Skeptical critics say the Whole Foods deal is really about throwing grocery-starved Old Town residents a bone—a convenient place to buy gourmet coffee, egg-salad sandwiches, wine and a good steak.
Meanwhile, Fern Hill continues its secrete master plan to turn Wells St. and Pipers Alley into an ever-expanding high-rise enclave.
Real estate insiders say Fern Hill’s the long-range “Old Town Canvas” plan also includes the Piper’s Alley tract, now owned by Old Town Development Associates, LLC, a partnership headed by politically connected Thomas M. Tully, who served as Cook County Assessor from 1974 through 1978.
These insiders say Fern Hill’s proposed 36-story high-rise proposed at North and Wells apparently is the first planned pawn to stretch the “land-canvas”—through various partnerships—for at least two additional towers along North Ave. west of Wells St.
Mayors Daley 1958 and 2045 Plans
Some may recall Mayor Richard J. Daley’s planto expand the parameters of downtown Chicago northward to North Ave. was formerly laid out in the historic 1958 Development Plan for the Central Area of Chicago.
Commissioned by Daley in 1957, and prepared by the then newly formed Dept. of City Planning under Comr. Ira Bach, the document explicitly expanded the boundaries of the “Central Area” to run from North Ave. south to 26th St. and from Lake Michigan to Ashland Ave. This master plan sought to dramatically expande the city’s definition of its core commercial and cultural footprint.
That 1958 plan was followed later by Mayor Daley’s son, Mayor Richard M. Daley, in The Central Area Plan 2045, which was completed in 2024.
The 2045 Plan planning area reflects Chicago’s Downtown Zoning District, which is approximately bounded by Division St. on the north; portions of Ogden Ave., Ashland Ave. and Halsted St. on the west; portions of Cermak Rd. and 25th St./Interstate-55 on the south, and Lake Michigan on the east.
This expansion northward laid the ground work for revitalizing the Near North Side, and paved the way for massive high-density residential and commercial modernizations. The plan sought to anchor middle-class residents and commercial investments firmly within an enlarged downtown core to combat post-World War II suburban migration.
Pipers’s Alley in play?
Fast forward to 2026, and apparently also in play in this rezoning chess game is the Piper’s Alley complex, including the recently closed X-sport Fitness Club, Starbuck’s, Second City Theater, and more than a dozen high-rent commercial properties that ring the northwest corner of North and Wells running west to North Park Ave.
Patrons say Piper’s Alley garage now is rapidly deteriorating with spalling concrete ramps, chipped steps, and a malfunctioning elevator.
Zoning experts say the rezoning of the 84,078-square-foot Piper’s Alley site to allow a floor-area-ratio (FAR) of 420,390 square feet could eventually pave the way for two additional high-rise towers on the north side of North Ave. between Wells and North Park.
Real estate insiders say the value of the Piper’s Alley site eventually could double if it were developed with high-rises and 300-plus parking spaces.
With all the current real estate intrigue unfolding along Wells St., analysts say it is not farfetched to imagine Walgreen’s moving permanently into the Whole Foods building.
Then, a swank new LA Fitness health club eventually could open on the ground floor of the Fern Hill high-rise planned on the northeast corner of North and Wells.
“Whole Foods Market is an established operator with the capacity to serve the neighborhood for the long term,” Ald. Hopkins said. “There is still work ahead, but the signed lease is a concrete and welcome step forward.” No opening date has been set for the new Whole Foods store owned by Amazon.
While a Fern Hill affiliate owns both the properties at 1639 N. Wells and 1600 N. LaSalle, the planned Whole Foods can proceed separately from the high-rise development, which is the subject of an ongoing legal battle.
Fern Hill won City Council approval for a 36-story apartment tower on the site in April of 2025. Three months later, a group representing residential owners adjacent to the site sued to stop the project from moving forward, arguing that the city improperly rezoned the property.
In April of 2026, a judge sided with attorneys for the city and Fern Hill in granting their motion to dismiss that lawsuit. The project’s opponents have filed notice that they plan to appeal the judge’s decision, according to court records.
The former Treasure Island space is reported at 44,000 square feet, roughly 220 feet along Wells by 200 feet deep. But only about half was enclosed retail space. The balance accommodated 45 parking spaces, access drives, loading/receiving and mechanical space serving an adjoining condominium tower at 1660 N. LaSalle, including access to its parking garage above.
Whole Foods unknowns
Critics say there are several unknown facts about the Whole Foods cloaked back story. Questions in this evolving mystery follow:
• How much commercial space has Whole Foods actually leased? Is Walgreens a co-tenant—temporarily during redevelopment of its current location or permanently? And what exactly has been signed by Whole Foods and Walgreens, and with what conditions?
• It is unusual that two community organizations and the alderman’s office appear to be driving the announcement. Fern Hill’s ownership entity is a 1660 condo-unit owner who is subject to the Condominium Declaration, as amended, and its bylaws and rules of governance.
• The former Treasure Island property was not part of the PD-89 rezoning application or studies. No executed leases were offered during that public process—only statements, commitments and assurances.
Fern Hill’s Edgewater plan
Meanwhile, lakefront high-rise developer Nick Anderson, CEO of Fern Hill, also is targeting the Edgewater neighborhood with a three-tower proposal at 5959 N. Sheridan Rd. on the site of the Emanuel Congregation synagogue.
Fern Hill already is receiving fierce opposition to the proposed project from residents and local business who are calling for stronger lakefront protection. The site, viewed as the last developable lakefront property left in Edgewater, also is opposed by Friends of the Parks.
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For more housing news, visit www.dondebat.biz. Don DeBat is co-author of “Escaping Condo Jail,” the ultimate survival guide for condominium living. Visit www.escapingcondojail.com.
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