The owner of the property that currently houses the Safeway at 850 La Playa Street in the Outer Richmond has applied with the city of San Francisco to replace the store with a new, larger grocery store, which would be part of an 8-story building including more than 500 apartments.
On Tuesday, Align Real Estate filed an application with the city for this mixed-use development proposal for the site.
According to a press release from Align, the project would create 526 new residential units, with around 68 of those designated for very-low and low-income households.
Align said this project “would result in more homes being built in the neighborhood than have been constructed in the last 20 years, while nearly doubling the number of affordable homes built in that same timeframe.”
The existing Safeway store would need to be temporarily closed during the construction of the new store.
Kelly Mullin, the President of the Northern California Division of Albertsons (which is Safeway’s parent company), said in the press release, “Every current Safeway employee will keep their job, with additional jobs created once the new store opens.”
Some neighbors shopping at Safeway on Wednesday night told NBC Bay Area the store is the only big grocery store in the neighborhood, and that losing it, even temporarily, would be difficult. Others said they had questions about developing an 8-story building in that location.
But some local shoppers said they thought it was time the Safeway store got an update.
“I think they just oughtta go and let them build, and make it better,” said Vertis Bean of San Francisco.
“I don’t know, it’s been here so long,” Bean said, gesturing to the building.
He also said that he hopes a new development could help make the store and the surrounding area more secure.
Earlier this month, five people were shot in an incident across the street from the Safeway site.
Align said its proposal would also create secured, above-ground and below-ground parking spaces for both retail and residents.
“The design therefore helps alleviate public safety and quality-of-life-related concerns and complaints commonly resulting from large unsecured surface parking lots,” the release from Align said. “Through controlled residential lobbies, secure key-fob and license-plate recognition systems, and dedicated circulation paths for retail and residential users, the site design advances safety and security.”
San Francisco Supervisor Connie Chan, who represents the Richmond District, said she is meeting with the developers soon to learn more about their plan.
“We hope to see a balanced approach, that prioritizes community input, maintains a neighborhood grocery store, and housing that the Richmond can afford,” Chan said in a statement.
Source: NBC Bay Area
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