Just a couple of weeks ago, we were having a conversation with someone about the fact that it had been so long since Whole Foods had done anything on its site at Third Street and Third Avenue in Gowanus that it was possible the grocer had abandoned the project. After all, the site has toxic issues that may, or may not, be resolved by the clean up it will do, and a variety of ground water and other engineering challenges.

Wrong.

It certainly looks like it’s full speed ahead, especially given the appearance of workers on the roof of one of an adjoining building (who were dressed in some kind of hazmat gear to do their work) and the appearance of a construction trailer on the property. That would be the trailer, above, which is on the site of the former Red Hook Crushers operation. The cleanup plan for the site has also been approved by the Department of Environmental Conservation. (Some of Whole Foods cleanup took place long before the plan was approved.) There are traces of carcinogenic benzene in groundwater at the site (whose source has not been pinpointed) and a variety of “volatile organic” contaminants left over by decades of industrial use of the property. Most of the store is being built below street level and is not subject to any city review or approval. The grocer has rejected neighborhood requests for a green roof and other environmentally-friendly measures.

The store is still supposed to open in 2008, although it seems like an ambitious target.

Related Posts:
Whole Foods Marks Gowanus Territory, Embraces Toxicity