A long-shuttered and aging Safeway building at 180 El Camino Real in South San Francisco will soon be replaced with a new flagship facility for the grocer, with plans for the undertaking approved by the city this month.
The new store, which will be open 24 hours, is planned to open mid-2023. The building will also house other retail shops and, unlike the existing structure near the rear of the lot, the new development will be situated near the road with parking and some retail on the first level and the Safeway above.
“The revitalization of this property has been in the works for many years, but it is worth the wait,” South San Francisco Mayor Mark Addiego said. “The new Safeway will anchor and stimulate positive improvements in the area.”
The prior Safeway, open since the 1980s, closed in 2014 with redevelopment anticipated. After various plans to revitalize the site, the city approved plans for a new Safeway in 2016. But due to trouble financing the endeavor, the previous owner of the 14-acre lot was unable to push the project forward.
Earlier this year Foster City developer Steelwave took over the project, also proposing three buildings totaling approximately 750,000 square feet for research and development use to surround the Safeway. The status of that portion of the development is unclear. Steelwave had also put forward an alternative plan to build housing on the site.
The site is currently owned by Shaimam Inc., but Steelwave Acquisitions and Development Managing Director Benjamin Yu said Steelwave was “at the tail end” of closing on a purchase.
The Safeway will comprise 63,700 square feet and 7,900 square feet will be set aside for the other businesses, which could include restaurants, banks, health care or other “fast-casual” uses, according to Steelwave.
“I’m glad to see where we’re at with this,” Planning Commissioner Norm Faria said. “I’ll be blunt, there’s been a lot of disappointments … to bring this to fruition in summer of 2023, or just seeing a building being raised would do great for the morale of this part of the city.”
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