The only supermarket in the Outer Richmond, Safeway, may be closing temporarily. Neighbors are not happy.
Align Real Estate on Tuesday submitted to the city plans to construct a 526-unit housing complex at 850 La Playa St. The plans call for mostly market-rate apartments to be built over a renovated Safeway, plus a parking garage.
Shoppers are bracing for the worst.
“It’s so fucked up,” Alex Shcheglov said Tuesday outside the store. He lives near the closed Safeway in the Fillmore district, which Align also plans to redevelop into housing, and drives to the beachside location for certain items he can’t find closer to home.
Align has not announced when it will break ground, how long it will take to build the Outer Richmond housing, or a time frame for Safeway’s reopening.
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Max Bush, who works at a social services agency, said he often plans outings for his mentally disabled clients around the Safeway, where they can pick up cheap lunches.
“It’s a critical part of planning,” he said. “We rely on it.”
Bush is torn. More housing could increase foot traffic for struggling nearby businesses, he said, but he worries about parking shortages and heavier traffic in a neighborhood already squeezed for space.
San Francisco-based Align was founded in 2015 by former Tishman Speyer executives Jason Chadorchi and David Balducci. The company has carved out a niche in transforming supermarkets into housing-forward mixed-use projects. In the Fillmore, Align has proposed converting the shuttered Safeway on the corner of Webster and Geary into 1,800 housing units, as well as a new grocery store.
Align’s other projects in San Francisco include the 416-unit Chorus high-rise in SoMa, the 144-unit 2177 Third condo building in the Dogpatch, and the 95-unit Konrad on the Park in Cathedral Hill.
Employees at the Outer Richmond Safeway said they had not been notified that the store would close and learned of it when the San Francisco Chronicle first reported (opens in new tab) on the redevelopment plans.
“We’re just as shocked as anybody,” said one employee who spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of losing their job.
The employee expects to be moved to another store, rather than being laid off, but has no idea if the assignment will be in San Francisco. A Safeway spokesperson confirmed that all employees will keep their jobs and “be temporarily reassigned to nearby Safeway stores as needed.”
Another employee who had not received word of reassignment nonetheless supports the housing development, believing it will make the area safer and boost home prices.
“It’ll make the Richmond better,” the employee said.
Matt, who declined to share his full name for privacy reasons, owns a condo at 855 La Playa St., across the street from Safeway. He was despondent when told of the development plans and ticked off a list of grievances: more homeless people, worse traffic, loud construction, and falling real estate values.
“They’re gonna do whatever they’re gonna do. It doesn’t matter what I say,” he said, rubbing his head with his hand.
Mary Beth Rockwell, who has lived in the Outer Richmond for 28 years, said Safeway is a neighborhood staple.
Rockwood, who works as a personal trainer, said she runs into friends at Safeway and chats with employees, some of whom have worked at the store for as long as she’s lived in the area. She sees shoppers come in to buy food for bonfires on the beach or concerts in nearby Golden Gate Park.
“It’s a community gathering place,” she said.
Rockwell said she supports the redevelopment, “as long as there is enough affordable housing,” but is skeptical the project will ever break ground.
“I’ll believe it when I see it,” she said.
Align said in a statement that the project will get “by-right” entitlement, bypassing the city’s discretionary review process and making approval all but certain. But given the city’s financing challenges — which have stalled or killed numerous housing projects in recent years — even a fully entitled development is far from guaranteed.