Downtown Ralphs is coming. Really.

Mid-2007 is the latest date for the opening of a downtown supermarket, the Downtown News reports. It's hard to keep track, but I think that's three years later than when the market was supposed to open. The delays have been a sore point among downtown boosters, who are often reminded by buttinskies like me that only the most adventurous urban pioneers would be interested in living in a place where there is no grocery store. And judging by the recent drop in downtown condo sales, the buttinskies might have a point. Why the delay? The market is part of the South Village project, and apparently there have been major cost overruns and design problems. Talk about a downtown supermarket goes back to at least 2000. Here's a Business Journal story at the time.