Phase one in Mariano's takeover plan escalates later this week when the regional supermarket chain breaks ground on their new South Loop store at 16th and Clark. Sloopin reports word of the event via an email from Ald. Pat Dowell. The 65,000-square-foot store will be subsumed by parking: 290 parking deck and 50 surface lot spaces. It isn't hard to glean from this the thoroughly suburban character of the development. No secondary commercial uses, no residences, and not in any way borne of 'pedestrian street' design principles. Mariano's Fresh Market is rapidly growing its Chicago footprint, and they seem unafraid of nearby competition from heavy hitters like Whole Foods, Trader Joe's, Jewel-Osco, and Dominick's. A Mariano's just opened on the Northwest Side, near Forest Glen and Jefferson Park, and they have additional plans for West Loop, Bucktown, Ravenswood, and Uptown stores (we're probably forgetting some). All hail the new king! [Sloopin]
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