Whole Foods construction starts on University

Construction of Whole Foods Market and Wawa on University Parkway has officially begun.

Albany, Ga.-based Pellicano Co. has started clearing roughly eighth acres at University’s intersection with Honore Avenue for University Station, which will also include Zoe’s Kitchen as part of 10,400 square feet of retail space. The 40,000-square-foot Whole Foods will be the second location for the grocery store chain in Sarasota County.

S.J. Collins, a Georgia-based developer, is overseeing the project.

Construction of University Station requires the destruction of a 4.5-acre wetland area, prompting an outcry from a local environmental group, Manasota 88. S.J. Collins bought 40 acres connected to Rye Preserve, in Manatee County, for conservation to serve as off-site mitigation, rather than conserving wetlands on the property.

Manasota 88 filed a lawsuit against Sarasota County in February, alleging its approval of the project a month earlier was inconsistent with the county’s policy for preserving wetlands. On Aug. 19, the lawsuit was dismissed with prejudice, meaning it cannot be refiled.