POLL: Will Whole Foods Drive Up Real Estate Values in Harlem?

6sqft has previously written about the Whole Foods Effect–the pattern of real estate values increasing when a new grocery store opens nearby. In fact, national data from Yahoo! Finance showed that “homes with a Whole Foods in the ZIP code appreciated by nearly 34 percent.” And here in New York, the Effect seems to be taking hold in Harlem, where a Whole Foods will open next year at 125th Street and Lenox Avenue in a six-story commercial building spanning over 200,000 square feet (other tenants will include Burlington Coat Factory, Nordstrom Rack, Olive Garden and TD Bank).

Citi Habitats agent Chyann Sapp told the Post that “there’s a one-bedroom two blocks away for $1,800. And the owner said that once Whole Foods opens he thinks he could easily get $2,000, $2,100 for it.” The store was first announced in 2012, at which time the area’s price per square foot was $594, according to appraisal firm Miller Samuel. As of 2015, it had risen to $839. Similarly, townhouse prices have doubled from $2 million to $4 million in this time.

Of course, this brings about concerns over gentrification, but this was in play along 125th Street before Whole Foods. As 6sqft previously reported:

Many real estate insiders cite the 2000 opening of Harlem USA, the retail complex at 125th Street and Frederick Douglas Boulevard, as the beginning of the commercial boom along the street. Five years later, world-famous art curator Thelma Golden took the reins at the Studio Museum in Harlem, and in 2010 Marcus Samuelsson opened his internationally-acclaimed restaurant the Red Rooster, both making Harlem–and specifically 125th Street–a cultural destination for locals and tourists alike.

[Via NYP]

RELATED:

• The Whole Foods Effect: Does the Green Grocery Increase Home Values?
• Is 125th Street the Next 14th Street? Big-Name Developers Think So.
• Fairway Grocery Stores Struggling to Stay Afloat in Competitive Market