{"id":15286,"date":"2025-12-10T05:00:00","date_gmt":"2025-12-10T12:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/is-whole-foods-coming-to-durango\/"},"modified":"2026-03-31T03:46:37","modified_gmt":"2026-03-31T03:46:37","slug":"is-whole-foods-coming-to-durango","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/is-whole-foods-coming-to-durango\/","title":{"rendered":"Is Whole Foods coming to Durango?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

\"The
The Kensington Development Group is proposing demolishing part of the Durango Mall to build hundreds of apartments and a national organic grocery store, which some believe would be a Whole Foods. (Jerry McBride\/Durango Herald)<\/span>cca<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

A conceptual plan to partially demolish the Durango Mall to build a \u201cnational organic grocery store\u201d and 6.4 acres of rental apartments has drawn pushback from some residents and small-business owners.<\/p>\n

The plan would involve selling about 165,000 square feet of the mall at 800 South Camino del Rio to Kensington Development Group, LLC<\/a>. About 25,000 square feet would be used for the grocery store, with the rest allocated for 230 to 270 apartment units.<\/p>\n

The mall\u2019s 94,400-square-foot northern section, home to retail tenants with long-term leases, would not be affected, according to the unofficial plan.<\/p>\n

\"The
The Durango Mall, with its many shuttered storefronts, was mostly empty Thursday. The Kensington Development Group is proposing demolishing part of the mall to build hundreds of apartments and a national organic grocery store, which some believe would be a Whole Foods. (Jerry McBride\/Durango Herald)<\/span>cca<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

While Whole Foods has not been named by the Kensington Group or the city, many residents assume the Amazon-owned retailer is the \u201cnational organic food store\u201d referenced in the plan.<\/p>\n

The Kensington Group is planning a similar mixed-use project in Avon in 2026, which includes a Whole Foods Market.<\/p>\n

City spokesman Tom Sluis said the grocery store\u2019s name has not been approved for release.<\/p>\n

The proposed project was first discussed at a Dec. 4 Community Development Commission study session.<\/p>\n

Several residents voiced opposition during an Urban Renewal Authority board meeting Monday.<\/p>\n

The Urban Renewal Authority board operates under state urban renewal law and is not responsible for making final decisions on proposals like the Kensington Group\u2019s.<\/p>\n

\"The
The Kensington Development Group is proposing demolishing part of the Durango Mall to build hundreds of apartments and a national organic grocery store, which some believe would be a Whole Foods. (Jerry McBride\/Durango Herald)<\/span>cca<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

When a project seeks tax increment financing, the Urban Renewal Authority board assesses whether public investment is justified and whether the project advances the broader renewal plan. The board may recommend approval, but City Council makes the final decision on allocating funds.<\/p>\n

In an email to The Durango<\/em> Herald<\/em>, Sluis said the proposal is in \u201cpre-application\u201d status, and that the development group has not purchased the Durango Mall, finalized a tenant list or submitted an official development plan.<\/p>\n

\u201cCity staff has engaged in preliminary conversations with both Kensington and the Mall owners \u2013 at their request \u2013 to explore what a proposed development might look like and to provide input,\u201d he said. \u201cDuring these discussions, staff have offered alternative ideas and options that reflect the city\u2019s priorities. These conversations are ongoing, and no formal proposal has been submitted to the City at this time.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"A
A conceptual plan to demolish a portion of the Durango Mall to build a 25,000-square-foot \u201cnational organic grocery store\u201d and 6.4 acres of rental apartments.<\/span>cca<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

As of Tuesday, Rathbun Properties \u2013 which has owned the mall through Durango Mall LLC since 2012 \u2013 remained listed as the sole owner, according to the La Plata County Assessor\u2019s Office.<\/p>\n

Lauren Czaplicki, founder of the Durango-based fire mitigation startup Fungal Solutions, argued Monday during the Urban Renewal Authority board meeting that a large corporate tenant could harm local businesses.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is a misuse of tax increment financing as well as a diversion of community revenue that is needless,\u201d she said. \u201cThe project relies on tax increment financing that would divert increases in property and sales tax revenue away from the city\u2019s general fund, schools, and essential public services. Instead of supporting community priorities, these revenues would be committed to subsidizing a private development.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"The
The Whole Foods Market logo is shown on the front of a store in Cambridge, Mass. (Associated Press file)<\/span>(AP Photo\/Charles Krupa, File)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

Joe Zwiebach, general manager of Durango Natural Foods Co-op, criticized the potential grocery store in the co-op\u2019s December newsletter, \u201cGood Thymes.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m not saying big is bad. But in the case of Durango, I believe it detracts from our small town appeal \u2012 especially when we have two local stores and one Colorado based store that serves the same market,\u201d he wrote. \u201cMoney is a wonderful motivator for city planners and is often put before established small businesses, town esthetics and distinctiveness.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rachel Landis, executive director of the Good Food Collective, cited a recent poll done by her group showing small food suppliers across the region could face closure within a month if they lost 5% to 20% of their revenue. She suggested a national grocery chain could worsen those risks by diverting local dollars.<\/p>\n

\"The
The inside of the Durango Mall, which has struggled to retain retailers and foot traffic. (Jerry McBride\/Durango Herald file)<\/span>du1-i-syn<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

\u201c(Small businesses) are essential assets to a community, and Whole Foods is not a substitute, and I\u2019m quite concerned about what it would do across the region,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Karen Zink, who co-owns the building housing Sunnyside Farms Market on Escalante Drive with her husband, Jerry, said the couple have worked hard to funnel money back into the city through their business endeavors.<\/p>\n

\u201cI object to having a big-box grocery store such as Whole Foods (here), because I don\u2019t believe they will plow anything back into Durango,\u201d she said. \u201cAnd I object to Jeff Bezos and Amazon getting a tax break to come in here and theoretically put the rest of us out of business \u2013 or certainly at risk.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"The
The Kensington Development Group is proposing keeping the north end and demolishing the rest of the Durango Mall to build hundreds of apartments and a national organic grocery store, which some believe would be a Whole Foods. (Jerry McBride\/Durango Herald)<\/span>cca<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

Sluis said the proposed developer would need to submit both a preliminary and final plan before City Council could consider the proposal \u2013 a process that would include public hearings.<\/p>\n

He said the city recognizes both the opportunities and the concerns that come with a project of this scale.<\/p>\n

\u201cA large grocery chain and housing could address key community needs, but also raise valid questions about traffic, infrastructure, and the impact on local businesses,\u201d he said. \u201cThe City\u2019s approach is to gather public input and evaluate the proposal through established processes.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sluis said the city is committed to keeping the community informed and involved as the process unfolds.<\/p>\n

The Kensington Development Group did not immediately respond to a request for comment Tuesday.<\/p>\n

epond@durangoherald.com<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

\"The
The inside the Durango Mall on Thursday. (Jerry McBride\/Durango Herald)<\/span>cca<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Residents push back on tentative plan to redevelop Durango Mall for grocery store, apartments<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":15287,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[431,374,28,994],"naviga_topic":[],"class_list":["post-15286","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-business-general","tag-economic-development","tag-headlines","tag-trueanthem"],"acf":[],"author_name":"dh_admin","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15286","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=15286"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15286\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":19577,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15286\/revisions\/19577"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/15287"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=15286"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=15286"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=15286"},{"taxonomy":"naviga_topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/naviga_topic?post=15286"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}