Whole Foods Confirms Plans for Upper Providence Store

Whole Foods Market has confirmed it plans to open a grocery store at the former Quest Diagnostics site at 1201 South Collegeville Road in Upper Providence Township, ending months of speculation about the identity of the mixed-use redevelopment's grocery anchor.

"I can confirm a Whole Foods Market store is coming to this location, but have no other info to share at this time," Carrie Rodgers Hunte, a corporate communications specialist for Amazon, said in an email to Spring-Ford Press. Amazon is the supermarket chain's parent company.

The confirmation comes three months after the Upper Providence Township Board of Supervisors granted final land development approval for the mixed-use project called the District at Black Rock. At the time, representatives for developer Hightop Development said the commercial portion of the project would be anchored by a high-end grocer but declined to identify the tenant, citing confidentiality agreements. They also told township officials that roughly 80 percent of the commercial space had already been leased.

The redevelopment includes 120 owner-occupied condominium units in stacked townhome-style buildings, five commercial buildings, restaurant and retail space, and a veterinary urgent care facility. Redevelopment of the site is underway.

Whole Foods Market operates more than 530 stores across the United States, including nearby locations in Exton, Wayne, and Plymouth Meeting. The company was founded in Austin, Texas, in 1980 and was acquired by Amazon in 2017.

Other major developments remain in the pipeline along the South Collegeville Road corridor in Upper Providence. A proposed 472-unit apartment community near Hopwood Road is under review, while Main Line Health has proposed a new hospital campus along Arcola Road.