Where Will the Portsmouth Whole Foods Be Built?

Let the speculation begin.

Whole Foods this week announced it will build a 40,000-square-foot store downtown. The company said the store, which will employ 175 workers, will open in 2016.

The company declined to give the exact location.

City Principal Planner Nicholas Cracknell said Whole Foods has not contacted the city about its plan yet. Cracknell said one location that would make sense is somewhere in the city's northern tier near Maplewood Avenue. That tier includes the Portwalk, the huge residential/commercial development that's currently undergoing its third and final construction phase. But Portwalk spokesman Scott Tranchemontagne said Whole Foods "isn't going to be part of Portwalk."

Another possibility is the old Kmart space on Woodbury Avenue, though that's well outside what's considered by many to be "downtown."

Where do you think the Portsmouth Whole Foods will be built?