Owners of one of Huntington Beach's aging shopping centers are moving ahead with a demolition and rebuild of Beachmont Plaza Shopping Center at the northeast corner of Brookhurst Street and Adams Avenue. A new 55,000 square-foot Ralph's Grocery and an 11,000 square-foot free standing building and the entire parking reconfiguration to include new paving treatments at driveway entrances and new landscaping are all on the drawing board as construction has begun.

The existing Sav-On Pharmacy will remain in place and be fitted with a drive-through window. A public art project will also be incorporated into the work, showcasing five planter boxes and six benches cast in the form of open encyclopedias, in reference to the small Huntington Beach encyclopedia lots given away with the purchase of encyclopedia sets in the early 1900's.

Off-site improvements will include a new traffic signal on Brookhurst north of Adams, and a new northbound right-turn lane on Adams. The project had been delayed due to the competing interests of the property owners and the grocery store employee strike. Developer Business Properties LLC said construction should begin by March. The city also recently approved conceptual plans to remodel the former Rally's building, a small drive-through building at the corner of the property, for use as a Starbucks Coffee shop.