Vons Relocation Delayed A Year

South Palm Desert residents will continue to have a Vons supermarket close by at the Palms to Pines shopping center for a little while longer.

Carlos Illingworth, a spokesman for Vons, told Patch that the opening of the new store at Fred Waring Plaza has been put off until the fall of 2013. The grocery store had initially been set to open this fall.

"Having our existing store in operation has provided us the advantage to coordinate the opening of the new store with the recovery of the area real estate market," Illingworth said.

He added that the delay came after some careful consideration.

"This additional time will also enable us to work even more closely with our existing landlord for a well coordinated transition and give us the time necessary to secure the adjacent tenancies in the surplus area of the Mervyns building," he said.

In July, the Palm Desert City Council voted to approve amending an ordinance to allow supermarkets up to 60,000 square feet in the city. The old ordinance had a cap of 50,000 square feet.

Vons bought a vacant Mervyns store at Waring Plaza, which is on the northeast corner of Fred Waring Drive and Highway 111, with plans to put a 57,000-square-foot grocery store at the location.

Brian Braaten, vice president of Real Estate for Safeway Inc.'s Vons Division, told the City Council that developers signed an agreement with the owner of the shopping center where the Vons is currently located.

During the meeting, Braaten said Vons agreed to stay in its current location at the Palms to Pines Shopping Center until November 2012, and that it would do its best to find a tenant to fill the vacancy.