This North Shore Whole Foods is sinking

Business

Whole Foods is suing the shopping plaza’s owner and construction managers for damages.

The Whole Foods Market in Beverly is allegedly “sinking” due to faulty foundation construction, which has caused extensive damage, including spontaneously breaking glass windows, damaged doors, and cracks in the floor and walls.

Whole Foods is suing the local management company CEA Beverly LLC, also known as CEA Group Inc., and the engineering and construction firms responsible for the store’s construction to recoup the money from the expensive damages. 

In a lawsuit filed in Boston federal court on Jan. 30, Whole Foods alleges that the store’s improper construction on top of an old landfill has made it “structurally unsound.” 

As a result, Whole Foods has found cracks in the walls and floor slab, bulges and distress in interior walls, gaps between walls and the ceiling, and multiple areas where the floor is not level. 

Whole Foods also claims it had to pay to replace its storefront glass windows with acrylic ones to allow for movement and prevent glass from shattering. The store has also experienced issues with doors caused by the shifting foundation, according to the suit. 

The store claims the uneven decomposing materials in the rubbish fill will continue exacerbating the problems. 

The suit says that the landlord and general contractors “should have known of the property’s history” and engineered, designed, and constructed a proper substructure and foundation that could withstand the continuing decomposition of materials. 

History of the store

CEA Group Inc. owns and leases the North Shore Commons Shopping Center at 150 Brimbal Ave., where the store sits. 

In January 2013, Whole Foods entered a lease with CEA Group to develop the store. Under the lease, CEA Group was responsible for constructing and designing the building shell, which includes the structural elements. 

Construction began in late 2017 and early 2018. Whole Foods opened the store to customers on Oct. 17, 2019. 

By mid to late 2022, Whole Foods began to notice “numerous structural and foundational issues” with the store, where areas appeared to be “noticeably sinking into the ground.”

Whole Foods said it expects to incur millions of dollars in out-of-pocket costs to correct and remediate the negligent work. 

The suit says the store may need to close for construction to do the repairs, resulting in losses of about $1 million in weekly profits. The store also claims it may suffer reputational harm and loss of goodwill from customers and vendors who would have to take their business elsewhere. 

Whole Foods is suing the management, engineering, and construction companies for breach of contract, negligence, and liability. The store requests that the firms pay the out-of-pocket costs it has spent fixing the damages and court fees. 

Whole Foods said it does not comment on pending litigation. 

Steven Cohen, the president of CEA Group, did not immediately respond to a request for comment. 

The City of Beverly building commissioner did not immediately respond to whether the building is safe. 

Beth Treffeisen

Reporter

Beth Treffeisen is a general assignment reporter for Boston.com, focusing on local news, crime, and business in the New England region.