Trader Joe’s to open at The Village in 2017

The specialty grocery store Trader Joe’s is the first confirmed tenant for the new student residential and retail complex, USC Village, a project that officially broke ground on Sept. 15. It will start serving the university community beginning in fall 2017.

Dan Bane, the current chairman and CEO of the company, is a 1969 graduate of USC.

The 12,700-square-foot Trader Joe’s will be on the corner of Jefferson Boulevard and Hoover Street. The L.A.-based grocery chain has spread to more than 400 locations in 40 states since 1958.

”We’re excited to be part of the USC Village and we look forward to being a positive addition to the neighborhood in the years to come,” Alison Mochizuki, director of public relations for Trader Joe’s, said.

In a press release, Trader Joe’s said their location at The Village will combine current store aesthetics with community influences.

“The store will feature a festive décor that mixes traditional Trader Joe’s elements such as cedar covered walls and Hawaiian motifs, combined with a local flair that includes art celebrating the neighborhood,”  the company stated in a press release.

Students have expressed interest in the grocery store, as it will greatly expand campus food options.

”I think it’ll be really nice to have a healthy, affordable dining option on campus aside from Seeds,” Harshini Chengareddy, a freshman majoring in global health said.

At the USC Village groundbreaking ceremony on Monday, President C.L. Max Nikias stressed that the campus expansion will serve as an enormous benefit to both the school and surrounding community.

“In the past four years, we have been privileged to break ground on a number of new projects at USC. But this village is an especially historic moment for USC, for our neighborhood and for Los Angeles as a whole,” Nikias said.

In addition to Trader Joe’s, USC Village will include a fitness center, drugstore, Trojan Town USC store, restaurants, parking and a community room. Bank of America and Starbucks coffee will return as well. The project also includes building residence halls for up to 2,700 honors students and a Gothic-style clock tower.

The $650 million project is one of the biggest developments USC has undertaken, along with one of the largest in South Los Angeles’ history. This new development will be built on 15 acres of USC-owned land without public subsidies or taxpayer funds. USC is also providing over $40 million in community benefits and plans to redesign and improve Jefferson Boulevard in the funding of new streets, a new fire station, a law clinic, a small business adviser and ombudsmen.

USC, the largest private employer in Los Angeles, hopes The Village project will create both temporary and permanent jobs in the surrounding community.