$1B South Carolina Mixed-Use Project Lands Whole Foods Anchor

Whole Foods at Greenville County Square Redevelopment. Image courtesy of RocaPoint Partners

RocaPoint Partners, master developer of the $1 billion Greenville County Square Redevelopment in Greenville, S.C., has signed a popular grocery chain to serve as an anchor. Whole Foods Market committed to a space on the tenant roster at the 3.5 million-square-foot, live-work-play destination.

Whole Foods will be a focal point of the retail offerings at County Square, a walkability-centric project that will transform a 37-acre underutilized site in downtown Greenville. The popular natural and organic foods retailer will occupy a stand-alone facility at the property. MV+A Architects, a go-to design firm for Whole Foods, is behind the vision for the store.

RocaPoint hasn’t shared an opening date for Whole Foods at County Square—which, in addition to retail, will feature office space, hotels, residential units and entertainment options. The redevelopment is a multi-phase undertaking that will be executed over a years-long period.

Yenser Co.’s Steve Yenser represented RocaPoint in the lease transaction, while Scott Adams and George Wilson of Adams and Wilson stood in for Whole Foods.

The grocery-anchor effect

In a prepared statement, Patrick Leonard, principal with RocaPoint Partners, remarked that Whole Foods stands for the quality of the tenants the developer is targeting. Research indicates that the gourmet grocer is likely to prove a strong magnet for the retailers RocaPoint endeavors to entice.

“Grocers attract more foot traffic than any other type of retailer, which emboldens other retailers to pay a premium for storefronts within the same center,” according to a 2023 report by CBRE. “Overall, grocery-anchored retail centers will likely continue to fare well and draw continued interest from investors and other retailers attracted to high foot traffic.”

Beyond County Square, the organic foods chain is in expansion mode. During Whole Foods’ first town hall meeting of 2023, the company revealed its 10-year growth strategy, which calls for adding new stores across the U.S. as well as in Canada and in the U.K. At last count in January 2023, Whole Foods boasted a total of 546 locations worldwide.