BERMUDA DUNES, CA In late 2015, Ralphs opened its newest Southern California retail fueling facility. Located at 42140 Washington St., Bermuda Dunes, California, on the southeast corner of Washington Street and Avenue 42 within the Washington Square Shopping Center, about a mile south of the I-10 freeway, this latest development consisted of the demolition of an existing Blockbuster Video and construction of a new Ralphs gasoline station, which includes a 5,418-square-foot fueling canopy, a 178-square-foot kiosk, seven fuel dispensers, two underground storage tanks, and associated fueling system components.

The station is designed with clear, one-way direction of travel, abundant vehicle stacking, and enough room between the fueling vehicles to allow customer to leave without waiting for the car in front of them to finish fueling.

With the addition of longer gasoline hoses, customers can now choose any lane no matter which side their vehicle fill port is on.

The new fuel facility was designed to meet the stiff architectural and landscape standards of the Bermuda Dunes Design Guidelines and challenging parking, circulation and stacking requirements of the community and County Department of Transportation, with project reviews from the 4th District Community Council and Riverside County Development Review Team.

Significant design features include an earth toned canopy and kiosk with fasciae and cornice, while the canopy compliments the existing shopping center with it's clay S-Tile canopy roof.

A slate base, which also matched the existing center, is provided on both the canopy columns and kiosk. Stormwater management has been enhanced through the use of a Chambermaxx onsite filtration system.

Fiedler Group worked closely with Ralphs, multiple city staff members, and the staff of 4th District Supervisor John J. Benoit to craft a project that successfully met the operational, aesthetic, and engineering goals of all parties.

In addition to the design development and entitlement processing, Fiedler Group provided all architectural, civil, landscape, fuel, and electrical design required for the project development.

Expedited permitting services were also provided by Fiedler Group, which included obtaining approvals from Riverside County Building and Safety Department, Transportation Department, Fire Department, County Flood Control and Water Conservation, County Environmental Health (Foods), County Environmental Health (Hazardous Materials), Airport Land Commission, Riverside County Waste, Coachella Valley Water District, and demolition and operating permits from South Coast Air Quality Management District.

Construction of this new fuel station was provided by Anaheim, California, -based RD Builders.