Whole Foods Market To Open First St. Pete Location

ST. PETERSBURG, FL — A Whole Foods Market is finally coming to St. Petersburg, but the timeline and other details aren't public yet.

"I can tell you that there is a tentative lease agreement with Whole Foods based on some contingencies currently being worked out through the City Economic Development team and the owners," city of St. Pete spokesman Benjamin Kirby told Patch.

The space that houses Suncoast Fitness, 203 38th Avenue North, will be the new location of Whole Foods if everything goes as planned, according to a Facebook post by Suncoast Fitness.

"Good afternoon Suncoast Fitness Family, we will be closing this facility in June or July due to the landlord building a Whole Foods on the property."

Developer Jay Miller plans to redevelop the site to feature a 40,100-square-foot organic grocery store with 207 parking spaces. His application said the store “will enhance and revitalize” nearby properties, the Tampa Bay Times reported. The site plan will head to the city council for a vote this spring.

The owner of the gym, Robert Buchanan, said the last day of the 23-year-old fitness center's lease is May 31, and it will have to move to a new location he is in the process of finding. The building's owner said the only way the gym could stay in the space is if something drastic happened with the development plans, according to Buchanan.

A Dollar General and a former dry cleaners' business are also attached to the building. A drive-thru Kahwa Coffee is located in the parking lot. Patch reached out to the owner, Rafael Perrier, to ask if his business will have to move with Whole Foods' arrival, but he has not returned our phone call.

"I can confirm that a Whole Foods Market location in St. Petersburg is in development," a Whole Foods spokesperson said. "At this time, I do not have additional information to share."

No one would confirm to Patch what the Dollar General's plans are for the future after Whole Foods takes over the building. The future building is near two Publix stores that are across Fourth Street N from each other. Thirty-eighth Avenue is already a congested spot due to the shopping centers and residential area.

Clearwater has a Whole Foods Market that opened in 2014, and this would be St. Pete's first location.