The debut of a shopping center in Rochester, New York, serves as an example of perseverance paying off for the developer, resulting in the region’s first Whole Foods Market.
Whole Foods Plaza, anchored by the namesake Amazon-owned grocery chain, is an 83,000-square-foot redevelopment of a 10-acre parcel in one of the most highly traveled gateways to the southeastern suburbs of Monroe County.
The project, kicked off a decade ago, has been selected by a panel of local industry professionals as the winner of the 2024 CoStar Impact Award for commercial development of the year for Rochester.
Whole Foods Plaza comprises five buildings, including a Starbucks drive-thru. Sephora, Well Now, Fidelity Investments and Jersey Mike’s round out the tenant roster. The project incorporates energy-efficient construction, electric vehicle charging stations, bicycle racks and a new bus stop.
Developer Daniele Family Companies bought a portion of the property in 1993 and built and operated an Italian restaurant on the site, Mario’s Via Abruzzi, for over 20 years.
Mario Daniele, supported by sons Anthony and Danny, envisioned expanding the restaurant by purchasing adjacent land with hopes of also adding a hotel. After encountering zoning restrictions, the family sought other uses.
Whole Foods expressed an interest in the location but insisted on occupying the portion of the parcel where the restaurant still operated, sparking the Danieles’ decision to pursue the larger development.
About the Project: The Whole Foods Plaza application was submitted to the town of Brighton in 2014. Ground was broken in 2021 and the first store opened in 2022, followed by Whole Foods in 2023. Town officials asked for a full environmental impact analysis, which took three submissions over the span of two years before it was accepted. Wegmans Food Markets sided with opposition groups and filed over 25 lawsuits to stop or delay the project but was unsuccessful.
What the Judges Said: “One of the few ground-up shopping centers developed across the state and it brought new to market retailers to the region. Significant legal challenges and municipal approval process had to be navigated.”
They Made it Happen: Mario Daniele, Anthony Daniele and Danny Daniele, Daniele Family Companies; LeFrois Builders & Developers.