Plans For Ralphs Expansion To Be Unveiled
Public hearing tomorrow night will determine fate of new Ralphs store
Posted on March 15, 2011 by Matt.
For the past couple of years, Ralphs has been trying to change the face of its store at 903 S. El Camino Real in the Southwest San Clemente area. We have posted numerous blogs about the failed attempts by Ralphs to change the current store (for the most recent blogs, please click here and here), but the Ralphs expansion has gained momentum over the past few months with a current proposal on the table. According to the Orange County Register article "Hearing Wednesday on Ralphs store expansion," the new proposal will be presented at a Planning Commission public hearing tomorrow evening, March 16th, at City Hall (100 Avenida Presidio).
The current proposal would add almost 9,000 square feet to the current store while calling for a partial demolition of the store and adjacent businesses to make way for a larger and improved Ralphs called Ralphs Fresh Fare. The new Ralphs would be expanded from 19,500 square feet to 28,322 square feet and be given a facelift; the store would still be a single-story building with the exception of two Spanish-style towers that honor the San Clemente motif found throughout town. The public is invited to the hearing tomorrow evening at 7:00pm to view the proposed plans and voice their opinions on the project. The Planning Commission will make its decision on the proposal, which will be final unless called for review by the San Clemente City Council or appealed to the Council.
Our hope is that this proposal makes it way through the approval stages so that something good can finally happen with that shopping center. The center has been an eyesore on El Camino Real for years now, and it would be nice for residents of Central, Southeast and Southwest San Clemente to finally have a nice grocery store to use. Please click on the following link if you would like to view the full agenda for tomorrow night's Planning Commission meeting.