Rendering of redesigned Ralphs coming to Sherman Oaks with store front brought directly out to the sidewalk
After learning about several grocery supermarkets in the LA area being upgraded recently, I couldn’t help but imagine how we could enhance and re-imagine the Ralphs at Lake and Walnut. For those who are unaware of the trend nowadays, some supermarket chains (like Pavilions and Ralphs) in LA are starting to upgrade their suburban-style stores to become a better fit within their urban environment.
What exactly does that mean?
Well, basically, as Los Angeles continues to acknowledge and embrace the fact that we are the third largest metropolis in North America (after New York and Mexico City), many buildings in LA that were once designed and built to accommodate only automobiles (usually post-WWII buildings) are rethinking that suburban model and rebuilding with design elements that give higher priority to pedestrians.
Most suburban supermarkets are great for wandering the aisles for groceries, but less interesting outside for pedestrians that must walk by them. Why? Well, most of these markets have the usual characteristic of having a large parking lot in front of the store entrance with little to zero interaction with the perimeter sidewalks. That really hampers the full potential of creating a truly walkable environment. And in the case of Ralphs at Lake and Walnut, the suburban style market (with a huge parking lot in front) prevents the immediate area from really being pedestrian-oriented.
There are two simple reasons why the Lake Ave Ralphs should be redesigned: 1) The Gold Line Lake Ave station is two blocks north of Ralphs, and 2) the shopping district, South Lake Avenue, is about two blocks south of Ralphs. Basically, the market is situated directly in the middle between these two important “dots” on the map that are pedestrian-oriented. The goal here should be to “fill in the gap” between the Gold Line station and South Lake Avenue with pedestrian-oriented developments such as a redesigned Ralphs brought out to the sidewalk acting as a pedestrian connection.
Imagine a new Ralphs with a store entrance right on Lake Ave with parking hidden behind the store (like our Target on Colorado and Hudson)?
Here are some examples of this “new” concept for supermarkets, including: Pavilions in West Hollywood at Robertson and Santa Monica; Pavilions in West LA at Santa Monica and Barrington; Ralphs in Downtown LA at 9th/Flower; and Ralphs in Sherman Oaks on Ventura and Hazeltine.
Here are some photos to illustrate the concepts (renderings courtesy of MyRalphsShermanOaks):
The Ralphs at Lake and Walnut in Pasadena was built as a suburban store, but a new metro rail Gold Line station is only two blocks north now
Ralphs at Lake and Walnut is situated in Pasadena's downtown financial district. The Ralphs parking lot has zero interaction with the sidewalk
Imagine the store entrance at Lake and Walnut right next to the sidewalk like this rendering shows of the new redesigned store in Sherman Oaks
Parking would be hidden behind the building similar to the Target on Colorado and Hudson
A new redesigned Ralphs would contribute to a more pedestrian friendly environment and help tie the Lake Ave Gold Line station to South Lake Avenue
Imagine a more pedestrian-friendly Ralphs redesigned where the red arrows represent the store coming up to the sidewalk and the yellow line represents the pathway to the Lake Ave Gold Line station (a major pedestrian-oriented investment that is underutilized because it is not in the most conducive walking environment)
Especially in the revitalization phase of urbanization, you can’t have enough sidewalk cafes, restaurants and other pedestrian attractions. Starbucks, Coffee Bean, Peet’s and other cafe chains learned this during the last economic boom. The more they built, the more filled up and stayed full. They also seem to be a favored hangout for those between jobs, making them as robust to economic swings as their best Columbian roasts are in flavor. The need is there and just has to be satisfied. Build them and they will come.
With all of the automotive as well as current and potential pedestrian traffic along Lake, the example of the Las Vegas strip will become increasingly relevant. Overhead walkways around Lake and Walnut, Lake and Cordova and Lake and Del Mar are just a matter of time. This will secure and complete the pedestrian circuit between the Gold Line and California Ave.
I think this is a great idea and hopefully Ralph’s will consider this location soon given the redevelopment that is happening in the vicinity. I agree with David that if you build the sidewalk cafes etc. and pedestrian amenities, people will come. However I don’t think overhead walkways are the answer -- let’s get people walking on the actual streets.
The Las Vegas model works for…well Las Vegas -- but I can’t see that working anywhere in L.A. The existing overhead walkways that have been built in Downtown L.A (think Bonaventure hotel) do nothing but suck pedestrian life away from the street. Let’s get over our fears of actually walking the streets by addressing the deficiencies at the street level.
that is a great idea, using the current Target as an example of how to move the storefront forward. Adding cafes and smaller stores into the mix would go a long way to making that corner even more pedestrian friendly.
another more radical idea would be to turn the corner into mixed use. Large “big box” retailers (from Target to Safeway to even the Home Depot) have begun incorporating their stores into mixed use projects. For example,
http://www.newurbannews.com/TargetInsideOct05.html
I remember going to a Ralphs in downtown San Diego that was actually located in an old historic building with loft units above, so the company has definitely done something similar before:)
A perfect local example of a Ralphs with a mixed use component is the downtown L.A store. The store takes up most of the ground floor with a few other retailers and 6 floors of lofts above.
I would be in favor of something similar at Lake and Walnut. A Ralph’s with at least street facing retails etc. would work as well.
Actually moving the Ralphs to the street seems pointless and non-green. The Target is a bad example; a) it was built that way, not torn down and rebuilt, and b) the sidewalk in front of it is about as dead as any in Pasadena. The Gelson’s on Green (in fact, the entire Paseo streetfront on Green) gets very little sidewalk action. Large markets don’t draw pedestrians in Pasadena; this is still a drive and park area. The sidewalk as it exists in front of the Ralphs is perfectly adequate for ped traffic, if it gets little use it’s because there are no pedestrian destinations to the North.
Adding a strip of small stores/cafes along the Lake sidewalk fraontage (taking away parking and adding the need for more parking) would be a better idea, but the parking impact might necessitate building an underground lot.
Here is what the beautiful Ralphs Market looked like when it was across the street, 171 t0 181 North Lake Avenue from the 1920′s to the 1960′s, from the present location. We’ve had to endure Ralphs present ugliness for decades. Ralphs moved to its present location on the NE corner of Walnut and North Lake Avenue in the former Farmers Market/Market Basket 1950′s undistinguised boxy building sometime in the 1980′s, and in between in the 1960′s and 1970′s Ralphs was located in the Zody’s building at Mountain and North Lake Avenue with Zody’s on the top floor and Ralphs on the bottom floor where CVS Drugstore (Savon) is located now.
http://avenuetotheskylakeavenuepasadena.blogspot.com/2009/05/ralphs-supermarket-171-to-181-north.html
I totally agree that a more pedestrian-friendly, not to mention visually attractive, re-design would be a boon not only to the corner of Lake and Walnut, but to Ralphs as well. Many studies show that people will unconsciously choose the more attractive packaging given two or more identical items or locations presented differently. Pasadena could — and should — be in the forefront and guide the way. We have so much to gain from enhancing our already strong attributes. The city always has had a reputation for beauty — architecture, gardens, setting. Let’s become pro-active in whatever ways, large and small, we can. However, let us beware — simply moving a building closer to the street and hiding the parking lot is not the full answer. Attractive landscaping and user-friendly amenities is a must (at the Ralphs in question, their Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf could have outdoor seating; also the deli even without bringing in additional storefronts/businesses) One of the greatest nightmares to have been thrust upon the San Gabriel Valley recently — tho’ not in Pasadena — is the monstrosity of the Kohl’s on Huntington Drive and Rosemead. It certainly is at street edge, but avoids all contact with passersby (whether on foot, bicycle, car, or public transportation) by moving the entrance away from the street. What is that all about? It is so painful to remember the funky-but-fun corner this once was and wonder what on earth possessed Kohl’s to build what may be the ugliest, least friendly structure they could have possibly imagined!
Definitely agree that keeping pedestrians in mind is an important issue when updating grocery stores. I’d like to encourage you all to take a look at the Sherman Oaks Ralphs’ website that Brigham mentions in the article. We’d love to hear what you have to say about the plans! Feel free to comment and share your thoughts! Spread the word about this new proposal. http://www.myralphsshermanoaks.com
love your blog, have been reading for a while. so please forgive me if my tone is rude, but i want to be very clear about this.
this is a pointless waste of time, money and resources. totally irresponisble to the environment and consumer. and a powerful reminder of how lazy people can be.
are we really mad because the ralphs isnt directly on the CORNER instead of at the back of the lot, where it belongs? anyone who agrees with this ideal obviously do not live on or near Mentor/South Lake District. so let some who actually lives here and frequents this Ralphs daily tell you why this ideal is a total failure (sorry).
*Pasadena is a tricky one way street city that most people have no ideal how to navigate; driving the wrong way down streets as is. This Ralphs is situated right between Lake and Mentor, one of the trickiest one ways in Pasadena. Putting the parking lot at the BACK of the lot is basically going to give a driver only ONE WAY of entrance… from Walnut and Mentor. Meaning that MOST people, especially those who live southwest of Union and Lake will have to do a complete circle around the block to get into the Ralphs. Other people that have no clue how to drive Pasadena (i.e. 90% of Los Angeles) will be driving NORTH (the wrong way) on Mentor, trying to get to parking.
*Once again. if you live West/Southwest of Mentor, and you are a pedestrian shopper (like myself), the best entrance for you IS ALREADY ON MENTOR. you walk up the street and into the lot from behind ralphs on Mentor. or you walk west on Walnut or Union and enter the ralphs parking lot from what? MENTOR. So now youre gonna have me go all the way down to lake for a main entrance or walk through some kinda contrite parking lot? for what? I ALREADY DO THAT.
*like Nick from above pointed out… a perfect example of this is the Target RIGHT DOWN THE STREET. what youre proposing is a more ridiculous version of their parking, which can be an issue if you dont know how to get around the sequence of one way streets that Union and Hudson. Gelsons on Green has the exact design youre talking about, and it gets NO FOOT TRAFFIC from that angle… usually the parking below and the mall entrance to the right of it. Target is right on the street and it gets all its foot traffic from the PARKING LOT… and apartment/condos located BEHIND it, much like Ralphs.
really, its the most pointless proposal ive read in a while. the comments anger me, because i can guarantee YOU PEOPLE DONT LIVE HERE. just because you work in the office buildings around the Ralphs doesnt mean you get to change it the way you want. other people actually live here too. and if you guys knew anything, or spent any time here, youll know that this exact same Ralphs just went through a major 2 year overhaul… the end results of the strikes they went through 3 years ago. why are we redoing a Ralphs that JUST GOT DONE? how else can we waste money, people?
really, it sounds like people just want things to look pretty and updated and “NEW” when its just really unnecessary and a total waste of time. and its frustrating. there are other historical landmarks and buildings that deserve this kinda time and energy, not a GROCERY STORE.
stop being lazy and just walk through the parking lot, people. its not that serious. at all.
lets do better pasadena.
i love your blog, brigham! keep on updating. :)
as a resident of south lake and former lake ave office drone, i echo everything e stated. the proposed renovation would be a complete waste of money.
the long unoccupancy of the @lake and walnut storefronts as well as other Pasadena areas should speak volumes.
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The Lake@Walnut retails sits empty for two reasons:
1) the economy is bad right now, however that will not always be the case.
2) It is across the street from a huge surface parking lot that belongs to Ralphs, thereby breaking up the walkability of the area. South Lake Avenue works because it has street front retail that is continuous and pleasant walkable sidewalks.
Unfortunately this doesn’t hold true north of Colorado where the strip mall with the Coco’s and the Ralphs act as barriers that make it less pleasurable to walk. Having the Ralphs address the street and adding other incentives for people to visit (i.e other retailers of interest) could make this area more viable for pedestrians and the Lake@Walnut storefronts for desirable for potential tenants.
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