Whole Foods gives up on Gowanus

Whole Foods has canceled plans to open a market on Third Avenue and 3rd Street near the Gowanus Canal, which would have been its first Brooklyn location, the Brooklyn Paper reported. A Whole Foods spokesperson said the Gowanus land would probably be sold but that the company still hopes to open a location elsewhere in Brooklyn. Pollutants found at the Gowanus site had slowed construction, and local residents had also criticized the store’s plans to include a 420-space parking lot.