Well, I argee.

Perhaps, but it seems that Whole Foods is expanding fairly rapidly now so the choice of location may not mean as much as it once did.

Oh yay...now that I'll (WE'LL) be footing the bill for ILLEGALS to obtain a college education here in MA, I'll DEFINITELY be able to afford to shop at Whole Wallet. Do I laugh or cry here?

Tim, I'm very troubled by your anti-semitic remark, and hope others, as well as Arlington Patch, will respond in kind.

It is only a matter of time until Godwin's Law is invoked here.

Reverend E. Raleigh Pimperton III

Tim: Dog whistle phrases "moonbats" and "Beverly Hills East" indicate more to this than a simple statement of increased property values.

Two comments have been deleted for violating Patch's Terms of Use: http://www.patch.com/terms

Thanks, John. Much appreciated.

Thank you, John. My faith in this publication is restored after reading Patch's Terms of Use.

What does illegals obtaining an education have to do with whole foods coming into Arlington?i guess if the debate over the leaf blowers was so big omg this will be huge

if you can afford to shop at Whole Foods you can afford to drive to Fresh Pond where there already is one

#savejohnnys

Sean: Johnny's doesn't WANT to be saved. The family is getting out of Dodge, and not even waiting until after Christmas to punt their employees. So not the "family" oriented place many think needs saving. If they were making enough of a profit because SO many people were shopping there, maybe they'd still be in the business.

Maxine: nobody takes Tim seriously, except Tim. He's like the doddering uncle who drools and has Tourette's ("Moonbats! Moonbats!") that everyone puts up with at family holiday dinners.

I like that my property value will go up, since we're debating moving to someplace with less rambunctious kids and thieving teens (who come up on the porch and rip open packages left by UPS), and no narrow stairways to maneuver in our dotage. OTOH: property TAXES will also go up. :-< Ah well, as they say, Ye Maun Tak' the sour wi' the sweet.

I talked with some of the Johnny's employees a week ago, and heard that most of them were to be hired - temporarily on assignment to other Whole Food stores until the renovation. Hope this turns out to be true, because the decency of the Johnny's crew was actually more important to me than the prices.....although they'll be tough to beat.

Fred Gevalt

When has low property values being an issue in Arlington. I'm sure that there are a few Real Estate Agents who frequent this site that back that up. I don't remember hearing anyone purchasing a home in town for much less than asking price in the past two decades.

If I recall Arlington has been named the best place to live for one reason or another over the past several years and it wasn't because of a grocery store.

I won't be able to afford the most of the luxuries that WFM has to offer for my family on a regular basis and to be honest, I don't care to get the "free samples". That seems to be a big thing for many of the shoppers that I've seen when I have taken the loooong trip to Fresh Pond or even all the way to Woburn.

Either way, if a WFM is going to drive up property values it will only mean higher property taxes. That is something that I could honestly do without. What I would be shocked to find out is if the Town was able to get WFM to sponsor something for the kids of the town to keep those rambunctious kids and thieving teens off the mean streets of Arlington during the day and off of inthegloaming's front porch.

Home prices are again increasing as we are now entering another round of the 'bubbles". This of course does not mean that home VALUES are increasing.
I for one do not see a relation between people who buy coffee at Starbucks and shop at WholeFoods and their net financial worth.

Most of the folks who drink coffee at Starbucks are living hand-to-mouth and are having major problems paying off their student loans. These are probably the same folks who'll be willing to pay $2 for a tiny red apple.

The elderly with their little shopping carts will not buy their food at WholeFoods, but they don't have credit card deblt, no college loans to pay off and of course, they own their own homes, which are fully paid for.

Let the sense-less drink Starbuck coffee and buy apples at Whole Food. But, I for one won't be paying off their college loans.

And...I won't be going to Whole Foods.

Whole Foods is a wonderful employer --- takes care of its employees very, very well in more ways than just salary. Great place for high school kids to work --- and learn!

Whether or not you are happy about Whole Foods coming to town, the reality is (as stated in this article) long term it will have a positive impact on the attraction to the town as a whole, benefiting all who live here. I can see both sides, but think it is a good necessary step for the future of what Arlington has to offer. I will most definitely shop there (its much more convenient than Medford) but will continue to do my bulk shop in Burlington at Market Basket.

Mr. McKenna's article is food for thought :
"..., Whole Foods setting up shop here makes Arlington even more of a draw for potential home buyers, and will in turn increase home values." Do you really believe buyers want a Whole Foods in their town when shopping for a new home? Isn't a good school system and affordable taxes more of a draw? From what it appears, Medford's home values actually DECREASED after a Whole Foods opened there. Where is the "oprah-bump" there?
I would have to agree with Ron that there are many other reasons Arlington's property values might increase but to correlate them to the opening of Whole Foods in place of Johnnie's Foodmaster is misleading.
What do the real estate bloggers think?

I think we need a way to correct spelling after a post has been submitted.

Why is everyone surprised that "their" Arlington is changing? Arlington is located between Cambridge and Lexington! What else could happen eventually? The old residents are dying off or moving to assisted living. People who can't afford Lexington, and find Cambridge too cluttered, will of course choose Arlington. C'est la vie. If you don't adapt, you become extinct.

It's great if you can afford it, but I can't. WAY overpriced. I'll be going to Johnnie's in Somerville.

Where are the 99% supposed to shop now?
I used to see elderly people with their grocery carts in Johnnies. I guess now they will have to shop at Stop & Shop which is overpriced. Or, go to Trader Joe's. Or take public transportation to Market Basket schleping groceries home. Some fun.

I think is really sad that Johnnie's closed. It was family run business that most people could shop at -- because the prices were reasonable. I guess everyone has their price. The former owners are probably counting their cash, smiling all the way to the bank.

The building that housed Johnnie's will remain vacant until next fall. In the meantime, 99% of us get the shaft.

Bridget BISHOP is the BOSS'S BOSS ... Question do you get frequent flyer miles at Lahey for stomach pumping ?? It's semi season after all ....

All you people so worried about "where will the elderly shop" should get in your cars and DRIVE THEM somewhere they can afford. You only have to do it once every week or so, maybe less. Make it an outting. Consider it your compassionate, neighborly, civic duty. (And yes, I do drive my elderly neighbors to shop, so I can put my money where my mouth is. We also shovel their walks in winter.)

Bridget shouldn't. Be telling people that they are going to be extinct , that's one threat you don't want to make ... I hear they are having a special on stomach pumping this weekend ...

Again Bridget if I were you I would watch the threats ....