SAN FRANICISCO—In 2024, after 40 years, Safeway shuttered its Western Addition location due to continuous theft and customer safety, resulting in customer hate. The San Francisco Police Department reported crimes of repeated car break-ins, assaults, loitering and illegal dumping in the past years.
Align Real Estate was interested in buying the old Safeway lot and its surface parking lot in the Western Addition neighborhood. The property is estimated to be a roughly four-acre site, located north of Alamo Square Park and west of City Hall.
On November 10, real estate developer Align Real Estate submitted a preliminary proposal to the San Francisco Planning Committee to turn the former Safeway on 1335 Webster Street. This would make it the largest development projects in the Western Addition neighborhood.
The deal would double the original plan that Align considered. This is in part due to a set of housing laws passed by legislators in recent years to add more density to meet affordability standards.
About 15 percent of these units will be set aside for affordable housing. According to Align, it will have places of different unit types and for different levels of incomes.
According to the proposal, the buildings will be mid-to-high-rise ones that could reach to a maximum of 300 feet or 30 stories and are going to be developed in phases. The local community wants another grocery store to fill the food shortage during its redevelopment phase.
David Balducci, Align’s managing principal, says Align is working with the city. One residential tower is going to stand on a 500-stall underground parking garage, providing secured parking for shoppers and residents alike of the new community.
