The Whole Foods located on Brimbal Avenue in Beverly is suing its landlord, contractors, and developers for negligent construction, claiming that the store is “slowly sinking into the ground.”
This location only opened back in 2019 and was built on a landfill. However, structural problems that have since arisen include structural and foundation issues that have caused cracking walls, floors, and a sloping foundation. Staff had begun reporting these problems in the floors and walls starting back in 2022. In the lawsuit, Whole Foods says these repairs would cost millions of dollars during a long closure, in addition to the money already spent remedying property damage.
After news broke out regarding the lawsuit, Beverly mayor Michael Cahill required that officials and engineers meet on-site to conclude if the store is safe for customers. The engineers concluded that the building “is safe for public occupancy” in a letter addressed to Beverly citizens.
The company has been working closely with Haley & Aldrich — an engineering consultant — on the solution to their sinking store.
Although it’s unclear what the future steps to repairing the damaged building are, this Whole Foods location is still open to the public.
