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Whole Foods Market
Oakland, CA

For Whole Foods Market, the first new grocery store in this Oakland neighborhood in over 25 years, our design brief was to tackle an adaptive reuse of a designated historic property. The site, which went on to become a prototype store for Whole Foods, was first built as a cable car power station in 1890, and later became a showroom for Cox Cadillac.

The Lowney Architecture team restored the historic façade, creating a welcoming interior with the necessary square footage to accommodate an innovative “loop” store layout. A new steel and glass structure connects the grocery store to a 200-space rooftop and street level parking area.

The project development took five years and required the collaboration of 10 different engineering firms to tackle extensive environmental remediation, installation of a complex drainage system to mitigate flooding from a creek which runs underneath the building, and extensive earthquake abatement. Construction was fast-tracked through the use of precast concrete. Involving the concrete company early on was beneficial for planning and design, helping to mitigate scheduling delays, and addressing challenges with the lack of a construction staging area in this tight urban infill site.

MARKETS:

Size:
58,000 sf

Key Features:
Adaptive Reuse

Awards:
Reuse/Redevelopment Project of the Year – East Bay Times; Best New Retail + Community Impact / Inner East Bay (finalist) – San Francisco Business Times; Best Retail Store – PCI Design Award


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OAKLAND OFFICE

360 17th Street, Suite 200
Oakland, California 94612

tel: 510. 836.5400
moc.h1702051663craye1702051663nwol@1702051663ofni1702051663

LOS ANGELES OFFICE

Bradbury Building
304 S Broadway, Suite 320
Los Angeles, CA 90013

tel: 213.905.6665
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HAWAII OFFICE

928 Nu'uanu Street #400
Honolulu, HI 96817

tel: 808.769.6808
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