Sears at Friendly Center with new embellishments and a new logo masking the old facade on the Pembroke Avenue side.
Whole Foods' front on the Kathleen Avenue side continues to take shape.Previously, we showed you pictures of how Greensboro's Sears department store is downsizing their foot print at their building (which they own) and leasing half of the bottom lower level to Whole Foods Market at Friendly Center. The building, which retained a lot of its brutalist 1970s elements for a long time, is still in the process of undergoing a drastic transformation. Whole Foods Market is still scheduled to open sometime in Spring 2012, along with the new Charlotte store as well.
The Sears portion of Friendly Center has been recast as 'Sears Plaza,' sporting the new logo. It should also be noted this Sears store is perhaps one of the first in the country, if not the first, to have the new logo. The entire process of this transformation is quite unique, as you don't see a 1970s department store downsize everyday to accommodate an upmarket grocer. Whole Foods is reaping the benefits of a prime location and Sears' woes.
September:
Up Close
November: Work continues to transform Sears in time for the shopping season:
December: The new Sears logo is displayed and awnings continue to go up around Whole Foods.
The Sears Auto Center still displays their old logo.
6 comments:
In photos the Sears makeover looks decent, but I get the feeling that up close and in person the attention to details wasn't given that would integrate the new look to the building better.
Am I the only one that likes the old logo better? I actually love the logo with a red streak underneath... rarely used, but It's in place at aviation mall in queensbury ny.
Here's the logo. Capital S, lowercase ears, but same style as the old one and a red streak. I love it. http://www.looktvonline.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/k_mart_sears-280x210.jpg
Oh... I'm here because Sears is doing the same thing to their store in colonie, ny. Whole Foods will lease the entire floor 1. I am praying they don't remodel, that store is vintage, has not been touched since it was built in the 60s.
Thanks for your commentary Eric. It is interesting that they're doing another Sears/Whole Foods remodel... Looking at the Sears in Colonie it definitely has a lot of vintage elements... some might be stripped away. Another difference is that Sears is attached to a mall while the Sears at Friendly is part of a shopping center but standalone as a building.
4/7/2014
Yea, Friendly Center was under contract NOT to allow another grocery store onto the property. Oddly enough Sears parcel is independent, it originally was on the SW edge, separate from the rest of the center, like an add-on. Since Sears owned the land/building they found the loophole and let Whole Foods into Friendly Shopping Center.
Whole Foods pulled crap like this building directly in from of a Krogers in Va Beach (hilltop). They so badly want to be located at a certain spot..Greensboro, Charlotte, Va Beach.
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