Whole Foods Market broke ground on a 150,000 square-foot Whole Foods Market Midwest distribution facility in the Pullman neighborhood on Chicago’s South Side on Tuesday. Expected to open in early 2018, the new Whole Foods Market Midwest distribution center will initially employ 150 people and serve as many as 70 Whole Foods Market locations in Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska and Iowa, and the Canadian province of Ontario. Relocating from the current Whole Foods Market distribution center in Munster, Indiana, the new location offers a building double the size of the current facility. Investing in additional space to grow as the company expands its reach in Chicago and beyond, this new facility is expected to bring real, long-term economic benefits to Chicago’s Pullman neighborhood. The new center is among more than $225 million in public and private projects moving forward in Pullman, including: the community’s 2015 designation as a National Monument by the U.S. Park Service for its historic affiliation with industry, land use planning, and workers’ rights; the 2015 construction of Method Products’ first U.S. factory and Gotham Green’s rooftop greenhouse; the 2014 construction of the $135 million Pullman Park retail development; the current construction of a $15 million community center; and improvements to dozens of historic homes and other properties. City Council approved up to $8.4 million in TIF assistance to help pay for site preparation costs, including grading, demolition, and utility installation.