South San Francisco Mayor Mark Nagales, second right, along with Councilmember Mark Addiego, second left , Vice Mayor Flor Nicolas, right, and Kevin Lovell, Safeway senior vice president of operations, left, break ground on the new Safeway at 180 El Camino Real in South City.
Amid plans for biotech, research and development, and new housing, sometimes it’s good to celebrate the long-anticipated construction of a new Safeway.
That’s exactly what South San Francisco officials did Tuesday as they gathered alongside commercial developer SteelWave and Safeway leaders at the construction site located on El Camino Real and South Spruce Avenue.
The multiuse development at 180 El Camino Real will feature a 64,000-square-foot Safeway and approximately 10,000 square feet of ancillary retail space, according to a press release. The project plans to include 184 apartments and a biotech campus in addition to the Safeway and retail space.
The lot has been vacant for nearly 10 years and has been an eyesore for the community. Councilmember James Coleman hopes the new site reinvigorates the community.
“It’s really an example of what the future in the Bay Area could be like, a transit-oriented development that has housing, jobs, retail and a supermarket. It’s really community oriented and it’s going to have an immense impact,” Coleman said.
The Shops at Tanforan in San Bruno is nearly half a mile south from the site, with plans to develop a biotech space and 1,000 units of housing.
South San Francisco Mayor Mark Nagales said that the community has been asking for a new Safeway.
“I remember when I was on the Planning Commission and we had other iterations of the project and it didn’t pan out but SteelWave stepped up in a big way, and I am really excited about prospects of a new anchor in the community,” Nagales said.
It is going to be a great project in revitalizing the neighborhood, he added.
The project is close to another life-science development a few blocks away with 28.5 acres comprising 2.8 million square feet over six buildings. It will feature a biotech campus, residential units, retail spaces and a park planned to be completed by 2030.
Kevin Lovell, Safeway senior vice president of operations, said that the project is exciting knowing how many years it took to redevelop the site and because Safeway had a store on the property years ago, when he was the district manager and was forced to close the store.
“Knowing we had a store on this property that was dear to us and important to the community, I look forward to the journey ahead,” Lovell said.
Councilmember Mark Addiego hopes the new site opens up more possibilities in the future for the city.
“It’s quite possible that this new Safeway is going to be a catalyst for commercial change along the El Camino Real, which is long overdue,” Addiego said.
Currently, there are not many stores for the neighbors along El Camino Real to shop, he added.
“The success of this location might add some additional interest in parcels that are under-utilized right now, along the El Camino,” Addiego said.
SteelWave Managing Director, Ben Yu anticipates the project to be completed early 2024.
(650)344-5200 ext. 105
(650)344-5200, ext. 105
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