Tonight: Community Meeting on How Development at Vons Will Impact Eagle Rock

Three months after the groundwork was laid for a shopping center next to the Vons supermarket on Figueroa Street, a community meeting will be held today, Tuesday, to inform the public about plans for the property as well as to invite feedback.

The meeting, from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the , will be hosted by Property Development Centers, a construction subsidiary of Von’s parent company Safeway; the office of Councilman José Huizar; Eagle Rock Chamber of Commerce; Eagle Rock Neighborhood Council; and TERA.

Groundwork for the 17,700-square-foot Vons project began abruptly on Jan. 28, taking many shoppers, residents and stakeholders by surprise, not least because work on the long-neglected area had been scheduled to start in 2011 but was put on hold.

At the time, Eagle Rock Patch reported that the project would have two components: About 14,500 square feet of shops and a 3,200-square-foot “multi-tenant pad building” designed to accommodate multiple business tenants separately from the anchor tenant, according to Carlos Illingworth, director of public affairs and government relations for Vons.

“It will be unfortunate if Vons pursues a goal that is narrowly focused on building a row of new stores adjacent to the existing supermarket, ignoring how this project could easily benefit both Safeway and the community of Eagle Rock,” TERA President Bob Gotham wrote in a recent newsletter to members.

“The things that could be done to elevate this project are not extraordinary and within the context of the overall project budget, modest expenses,” Gotham added, referring to such features as an attractively landscaped parking area that includes bike racks, community-oriented signage, decorative lighting and street furniture.

The idea is to encourage Vons to “consider doing the small things that make a big impact—the small things that say, ‘We care about Eagle Rock,’” Gotham said. 

Proposed Shops at Vons Development Community Meeting, 6 p.m. to 8 p.m., Center for the Arts, Eagle Rock, 2225 Colorado Blvd.