Safeway and its development partner have issued new plans to raze their Outer Richmond market and replace it with a seven-story housing development connected to a new grocery store.
Earlier this month, Safeway’s parent company Albertsons Companies and Align Real Estate submitted an application to San Francisco’s planning department to develop an 85-foot affordable housing structure anchored by a Safeway store. If approved, the existing Safeway would be torn down for the new housing, according to the projects plans from early May.
The nearly 766,000-square-foot project would include 520,600 square feet of housing, 179,900 square feet of parking and 65,000 square feet of commercial space. A total of 562 units are proposed for housing that would include at least 112 affordable housing options. That’s an increase from the 526 apartments and 68 affordable housing units that were included in the developer’s November plans, according to SF YIMBY.
It’s not clear when the project could be approved or when Safeway expects to break ground on the new development. Dan Sider, the chief of staff at San Francisco Planning, told SFGATE via email that the application is currently in review and that Albertsons will receive feedback from the department by the end of the month. David Balducci, a principal at Align, did not respond to SFGATE’s question regarding the project’s timeline but told SFGATE in an email that the new homes would make it possible for working families and seniors to “live and work in this amazing community.”
A rendering of the proposed housing complex at 850 La Playa St. in San Francisco, where a Safeway is currently located. (Screenshot via San Francisco Planning/Designs by Steinberg Hart)
The project application is the latest collaboration between Albertsons Companies and Align Real Estate as they attempt to convert six Bay Area Safeway locations into mixed-use housing. Among the proposed projects is a 25-story housing development that would raze a 67-year-old Safeway in the Marina District, as previously reported by SFGATE. That project has raised concerns among locals, who believe the proposed project is oversized for the neighborhood, although some experts have praised the plans as a necessary step to bring new units as the city struggles through a housing crisis. Align Real Estate has submitted plans to build nearly 3,500 housing units in the Marina, Bernal Heights, Outer Richmond and Fillmore districts.
Albertsons and Align Real Estate are also collaborating on a proposed high-rise senior living facility over the current Trader Joe’s in Oakland’s Rockridge neighborhood. SF YIMBY reported that the project would include 415 dwelling units. In that case, the grocer has not submitted plans to replace the Trader Joe’s with another grocery store.
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This article originally published at Safeway expands scope of SF store redevelopment in latest plans.