There has been much written by many regarding the outcome of the pending Whole Foods development at the Gaston & Abrams intersection. Because of the strong interest expressed by our neighborhood, it is important for me to share the involvement of myself and other LNA board members during these discussions.

Whole Foods notified me about their zoning change request in mid-January, and that their representatives would like to share with us the preliminary conceptual plans for the new sore. The LNA board met with them on Jan 23rd and they shared their vision regarding the new store proposal. We raised a number of issues that included:

• pedestrian friendliness of the new store
• increased traffic concerns at the Richmond/Abrams and Prospect/Abrams intersections
• environmental friendliness of the new store
• location concerns of the new store along Gaston instead of Abrams as described in the current Planned Development (PD 281) for the Lakewood Shopping Center

We expressed our support for their effort, and agreed to work together to expedite a speedy solution to the zoning change. Next, our zoning commissioners for District 9 and 14 coordinated a meeting that included all the neighborhood groups described in PD281, the city planner and the Whole Foods representatives. (This was the same approach we used with the Wachovia Bank development. Those of us that participated with this venture understood how much such a collaboration help expedite the process.) We anticipated that it would require three to four meetings. The first meeting was held without Whole Foods present which allowed the neighborhoods to compile a combined list of issues regarding the development. The next scheduled meeting would have included Whole Foods, however; they decided not to attend as they halted their zoning change request.

The next morning I was informed by Whole Foods' Scott Simons via e-mail that they have elected to remodel the existing store instead of building a new store. Many opinions weighed in on their decision but in the end it was driven by economics. After Whole Foods did a cost comparison between remodeling versus rebuilding, they realized that the remodel will cost $4.5 million less. That, my friends, is a significant cost savings.

I echo Angela Hunt that I don't begrudge their business decision, but what I do not agree with is that they attributed their decision to the "time-consuming and difficult" zoning process instead of the real reason: financial. We were all totally supportive of this development and understood how important it was to help expedite the zoning process. We gave our time and effort freely to help them succeed and I want to set the record straight that it was not the "zoning process" that caused them to change direction. And in the end I want the store to open sooner rather than later - I'm tired of looking at an abandoned building!

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