The New Ralphs on Ventura Blvd. Will Be 'Fantastic,' According to Ralphs

“It’s gonna be fantastic,” said Kendra Doyel, a spokesman for Ralphs, today. “It will make a big difference for that entire community and for all of Ventura Blvd.”

She’s talking about the new giant Ralphs development currently under construction at Ventura Blvd. and Hazeltine Ave.,

“At a time when companies aren’t investing back into California,” she said, “this is a serious investment of capital dollars that we can reinvest back into our stores, and that’s what we’re doing. This is a huge investment by Ralphs into this area.”

It will also employ about one hundred people.

The new store will be 65,500 square feet, with two levels of parking providing a total of 316 parking spaces.

It will also have a 6,270 square foot lobby, as well as 4,000 square feet of ground floor shops along Ventura Blvd.

This expanded Fresh Fare version of Ralphs was chosen to improve the grocery shopping area in Sherman Oaks and to become more upscale in order to match what they perceive as the “quality retail environment” of this neighborhood.

Construction, she said, will continue for a full year, with expected completion i July of 2013.

It’s a lengthy project, she said, because it is so large. Simply demolishing the existing structure, a former Ralphs which stood on this spot since its remake in 1994, took many months.

Also very time-consuming, she said, is the work necessary to connect two separate levels – that of Ventura Blvd. in the front and Moorpark Street in the back – which are at significantly different heights. The development solves this problem by having entrances to the complex both from Ventura Blvd. and Moorpark Street, with each leading onto a separate level of the parking structure.

It was a singular solution to a problem never before encountered.

“We have never had that exact setting,” she said. “But each construction brings unique and challenging opportunities.

“We were thinking of how best to mitigate this traffic situation and not cause traffic problems, but also how to make it safe and easy for customers going in and out. And with that differential grade, it lends itself to that. “

Also lengthy was the time spent working with the community, Doyel said, to ensure this new store fits in well with their concerns.

“We went through a lot of community meetings, planning meetings and hearings,” she said. “It’s been a long process. We took in many ideas from those I the community. So we’re looking forward to bringing this forth to the area.

“We wanted to make it a significant investment in this area,” she continued, “to bring a new store to that space. So we started down the road several years ago – almost four years ago – getting this project up and running. It’s something we’re very excited to get done to be sure.”

Every Ralphs market, she said, is designed with the concerns of each specific community in mind.

“We want to bring what each neighborhood wants for their store,” she said. “And, of course, that varies. Getting that community input was great. There are so many people [in this community] who are so excited about this, and about the different offerings that we’re bringing to this store. We really want to make it a community store.”

Asked to name modifications Ralphs made in this store based on community input, she named several.

“People wanted a space where you can eat there,” she said, “which we will have. “They wanted us to make it more walkable, by making the sidewalks nice.

“They wanted us to make sure the parking structure wasn’t fully enclosed or underground, but open, which we did. So there was a lot of give and take back and forth through the whole process.”

She confirmed that there will be several shops along the front of the development on Ventura Blvd., but said it’s yet to be determined what will go in there. “They will be shops that will fit in well with the nature of the neighborhood.”

In regard to our report that this was the last Ralphs ever to be refurbished on Ventura Blvd., she laughed and said, “You know, that’s an interesting thought. It depends on how you look at it. We are a 138-year old company.

She also said it is not going to be the “largest Ralphs ever in the valley” as reported.

“It is one of the larger ones that we have. But, no, not the largest.”

Ralphs was founded in downtown Los Angeles in 1873 by George Albert Ralphs with a single store, according to Doyel, at Sixth Street and Figueroa in downtown L.A.

Ralphs is currently owned by the Kroger company of Cincinnati, the largest supermarket chain in the nation.

Doyel said she understand that with a development of this size, there will always be concerns in the community, but that Ralphs studied every aspect of development in this area with the community in mind.

Fears that such a vast complex will invite lasting traffic problems into the area, she said that the traffic situation was researched intensively, taking into account all requisite specifications for this neighborhood.

Traffic congestion, she said, will be mitigated partly by having entrances and exits in both the front and back, off of Ventura Blvd. and Moorpark Street.

“We did extensive research with traffic specifications” she said, “not in that exact area but quite a ways out, to make sure that if any changes had to be made to the project they could be done so there is not a traffic issue.”

As reported, Ralphs had started a website about the development, with a phone number for residents to call for information. That website, she explained, was discontinued many months before, although it is still currently up on the Internet. The phone number listed there is no longer connected to Ralphs.

“This is going to be a great thing for this neighborhood,” she said, “a Ralphs specifically suited to this area, and with a much larger and better range of offerings than what was here before. We are all very excited about bringing this to the community.”