New market for former Draeger’s site in San Mateo

“Woodlands Market is exactly the kind of community-focused partner we hoped to bring to downtown San Mateo,” Lane Partners Principal Marcus Gilmour said in a press release. “We are thrilled to welcome a beloved local grocer that will provide an essential daily service while also helping anchor this neighborhood for years to come.”

Woodlands Market Founder Don Santa said in a statement that “San Mateo feels like the perfect next chapter” for the business, which currently has locations in North Bay and San Francisco and focuses on “natural and sustainable products,” according to its website.

The current building will be demolished to make room for the new mixed-use development, which made Draeger’s Market’s future uncertain even prior to its closure announcement. The loss of a downtown grocery store sparked concerns from residents about whether the increase in new commercial and residential development would come with commensurate community businesses, especially after another grocery retailer, Trag’s Market, closed down a few years prior. 

One of the city’s conditions of approval for the new site was ensuring a grocery store occupied the retail space. 

Other developments, in San Mateo and throughout the Peninsula, have also dealt with similar concerns from residents. Grocery stores typically make developments less financially feasible than other uses, such as commercial offices. And depending on the type of development, cities are limited in whether they can mandate such conditions.

Residents near the Hillsdale Shopping Center — which will eventually be demolished to make room for new office buildings and up to 1,670 housing units —  have frequently raised concerns about the current Trader Joe’s potentially moving to another location, however, the city is unable to require the developer, Bohannon Properties, to maintain a grocery store there. Many expressed relief after developers of the Concar Drive project confirmed the Trader Joe’s would be able to remain in its current location. 

The developer SteelWave is constructing a new Safeway in South City, responding to citywide pressure to include a grocery store in its planned development that includes a biotech campus and 184 residential units. 

San Mateo Mayor Adam Loraine said he hopes Woodlands Markets’ presence serves as a “proof of concept that it is possible” for cities, developers and grocers to work together on much-needed amenities. 

“It’s important to have access to services as we look at adding potentially more housing into our spaces and downtown,” Loraine said. “If it can be demonstrated that listening to those concerns from the community is important and can be done, then that’s a great sign for upcoming developments in our city.”