Whole Foods Coming to Birmingham in Early 2017

Whole Foods will open its seventh store in Michigan in Birmingham. (Rendering via OKW Architects)

The popular Whole Foods grocery chain is coming to Birmingham after a unanimous vote this week by the city’s planning board.

The 46,000 square-foot store, to be located at 2100 E. Maple, will be the seventh Whole Foods store in Michigan, and will be about twice the size as the chain’s store at Maple and Coolidge in Troy, according to a report on Hometownlife.com.

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Before construction can begin, a long vacant building at the Birmingham location will have to be demolished. The city recently rezoned the property from office to business uses to spark revitalization of the area. The projected opening date is early 2017.

Some neighbors had initially objected to the project because of anticipated traffic increases, but none of them spoke out against the proposal at a meeting Wednesday after officials revised the plan to shift the traffic flow.

The changes include a more prominent entrance along West Maple, an extended outdoor terrace and additional glazing that gives pedestrians a better view of operations. The chain is paying for traffic lights and crosswalks at the intersection of Maple and Eton to improve traffic flow.

Parking will be ample wit 250 spaces, 95 more than city ordinance requires.

Whole Foods also has stores in Rochester Hills, West Bloomfield, Detroit and Ann Arbor, where it operates two locations.