Whole Foods is rolling into Wicker Park, taking over the landmark Home Bank and Trust Company building and turning the long-vacant former CVS at Ashland, Division, and Milwaukee into a full-service grocery store. The high-profile corner storefront has sat empty since CVS shut down in early 2023, but city permit records now show interior work starting up. Neighbors say the move could bring badly needed jobs, fresher groceries, and a lot more daily foot traffic to a stretch that has looked stalled for more than a year.
As reported by Block Club Chicago, a company spokesperson confirmed that Whole Foods is actively developing a store in the former CVS space. The city’s Buildings Department has issued a renovation permit covering interior demolition in select portions of the property. Block Club notes the ground-floor space has been empty since 2023 and that RDM Companies, which owns the Home Bank and Trust building, is also pursuing a 13-story apartment tower on the surface lot behind it. Whole Foods has not yet put an opening date on the calendar.
Historic Bank Building Set For Grocery Store Revival
The Home Bank and Trust Company building, completed in the 1920s and designed by architect Karl M. Vitzthum, is a recognized Chicago landmark and a visual anchor at Wicker Park’s busy six-corner intersection. As noted by Preservation Chicago, its ornate terra-cotta detailing and commanding corner presence have made it a recurring subject in preservation circles. Because the structure is officially landmarked, any exterior alterations will need city review, even as the interior gets reworked to handle grocery aisles and checkouts.
CVS Exit In 2023 Left A Highly Visible Void
The CVS at the intersection closed in March 2023, leaving the prominent ground-floor space dark and sparking fresh worries about what might come next, local outlets reported. Fox 32 Chicago covered the closure at the time, and neighborhood groups have kept close tabs on redevelopment chatter ever since. Residents and business organizations say a full-service grocery has been missing from this slice of the neighborhood for years and could fill a long-standing everyday need.
Permits, Politics, And The Slow March To Opening Day
Ald. Daniel La Spata told Block Club Chicago that his office has been in regular contact with Whole Foods about loading logistics and other operational details. He called 2026 “the year of grocery store announcements” in the 1st Ward. The building’s owner is moving ahead on interior demolition permits, but neither RDM Companies nor Whole Foods has offered a public timeline for opening the doors. For now, neighbors and nearby businesses are watching city permit filings and any preservation reviews that could shape the final design.
If the Whole Foods plan stays on track, it will become the latest chapter in Wicker Park’s gradual transformation of old bank buildings into new retail. Residents say they want that evolution to strike a careful balance between preserving historic architecture and adding the kind of day-to-day services that keep a commercial strip alive. City paperwork, preservation approvals, and an eventual official opening date from Whole Foods will determine when the neighborhood finally gets to do its first grocery run inside the old bank.
