SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) – Last Thursday we learned that the only Safeway grocery store in San Francisco's Western Addition is closing.

Community members and the NAACP are speaking out, saying that implementing this plan will have long-term negative impacts on the city's black community.

In less than two months, the Safeway grocery store on Webster Street will close, executives say.

“They're destroying it. They're just destroying the whole neighborhood,” said Theresa Frye, who lives in Western Addition and shops at Safeway.

RELATED TOPICS: New anti-theft gates installed at several SF Safeway locations

Community members are outraged, saying seniors and the disabled have been forgotten. Safeway officials say they have reached an agreement to sell the 3.68-acre site to a real estate company to build a mixed-use development project that would include residential and commercial space.

“They really need to do something to take away the things we need from downtown and then create housing. Housing for who? For the homeless? They need to make a bigger effort,” said Norris Mays, who lives in the Western Addition.

“It is the destruction of a community!” said Dr. Amos Brown of the NAACP.

And those views from Brown are shared by those we spoke to in Western Addition, who believe this will have a direct impact on low-income black and Asian communities.

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Last week, Mayor London Breed told our partners at the SF Standard, “This is a real and rare opportunity to create a significant amount of new housing and even a new grocery store in this part of our city.”

However, plans for a new grocery store have not yet materialized, and community members we spoke to have targeted the mayor.

“And London isn't even fighting for the black community to keep this store here for black people. It seems like they're just driving all black people out!” said Lillie Briggs, who lives in the Western Addition.

JR STONE: “So you blame the mayor?” we asked.

LILLIE BRIGGS: “I blame London because I think London should have done more. She grew up in this area!”

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Supervisor Dean Preston's office said it had contacted Safeway and the developer to “explore the possibility of establishing a grocery store as part of any proposed development on the site.”

“They need to stop, slow things down and allow the black community to come in and include us,” Brown said.

The closure of the Safeway store means customers will have to travel more than a mile to another Safeway or Lucky supermarket, or a little more than half a mile if and when a new Trader Joe's store opens in Hayes Valley.

MORE: 'Breaking point': Once 24-hour Safeway in Castro, San Francisco, cuts hours due to theft

We reached out to San Francisco Mayor London Breed's office on Sunday evening to see her response to some of the criticisms. We have not received a response from her office.

Safeway issued the following statement:

“Safeway recently entered into an agreement to sell 3.68 acres of land at Webster Plaza in San Francisco's Fillmore district to Align Real Estate. The company will develop a mixed-use development project there that will include residential and commercial space. As part of the sale, the Webster Safeway store is expected to close in early March.

Safeway has proudly served the Fillmore area for 40 years. All Webster Safeway employees will be relocated to another store in the San Francisco area, and we will continue to serve San Francisco from our remaining 15 locations.

The developer purchasing the Webster Plaza property is excited about this opportunity. San Francisco is struggling with a housing shortage and Safeway sees this as an opportunity to make a positive impact on the community and be part of a solution to bring much-needed additional housing to San Francisco.”

Supervisor Dean Preston made the following statement:

“We are extremely concerned about the potential loss of this grocery store in the heart of Fillmore, and particularly the possibility of losing it as early as March, which we find unacceptable. We welcome the development of this large surface parking lot with residential development, but this should not be an either/or situation.

We have reached out to Safeway and the developers to learn more about the plans, discuss the timeline and explore the possibility of incorporating a grocery store as part of a planned development at this site.”

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A long-awaited Safeway, biotech campus and housing development in south San Francisco is poised to move forward after the city council voted this week to overrule a decision by the airport board that found the site too noisy for housing was.

The project, which will include 184 apartments, the grocery and other retail businesses, and three six-story life science buildings, is the latest proposal for a long-vacant 14-acre lot at 180 El Camino Real.

The site was previously occupied by a Safeway, which closed in 2014 ahead of expected redevelopment. The city had approved a project that would include 284 new homes and 220,000 square feet of retail that the previous owner was unable to move forward.

The latest plans came in 2021 from SteelWave, a Foster City developer who has since bought the site. The proposed new Safeway would be 64,000 square feet — a flagship facility open 24 hours a day, complete with a pharmacy, a grocer representative told planning commissioners last year.

SteelWave has provided the latest plans for the development of 180 El Camino Real in South San Francisco

An additional 10,000 square feet for other businesses would also be included, and the apartments would be in a seven-story building on the northeast corner of the property, with parking in a separate garage.

However, the proposal hit a potential snag earlier this month when the Airport Land Use Committee, along with the City/County Association of Governments for the county, determined that the site receives too much noise from aircraft to be suitable for housing.

The City Council this week unanimously voted to overrule the decision, noting other advantages the location offers, including proximity to the San Bruno BART station, which is less than half a mile away, and the grocery store Place that improves walkability.

“We’re really developing a new neighborhood that will have great connectivity with public transport,” said Councilor Mark Addiego.

He also pointed to a 338-unit housing development planned in 2020 for 410 Noor Ave. approved, a site adjacent to the Safeway project closer to the airport. The city council at the time also overruled the airport committee’s decision.

“It’s not my favorite committee, let’s put it that way,” Mayor Mark Nagales said. “In terms of the projects we keep putting them before it, that’s a pretty strict definition and if it doesn’t meet their definition, that’s an automatic no.”

In 2021, a Foster City developer who has since bought the site. The city council unanimously voted this week to overrule a decision by the airport’s land use committee, which found the site receives too much noise from aircraft to be suitable for housing and pointed to other benefits the site offers .

If the project faced Huntington Avenue, it would be cleared according to the committee’s criteria, said Billy Gross, the city’s chief planner. He said the site is reportedly exposed to 70 decibels and the developer’s intention is to reduce indoor noise from residential buildings to 45 decibels or less.

The Shops at Tanforan is also about a half mile away, closer to San Francisco International Airport. There are plans to convert it into a biotech space and 1,000 housing units or more. Existing neighborhoods of single-family homes are even closer.

Prosecutor Sky Woodruff said repealing the council would not open the city to potential litigation.

The Council’s action informs both the Airports Commission and the Caltrans Division of Aeronautics of its intention. A formal vote on the matter will take place sometime in September, Gross said. The Planning Commission is also due to review the project next month.

corey@smdailyjournal.com

(650) 344-5200, ext. 105

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A long-awaited Safeway, biotech campus and housing development in South San Francisco is poised to move forward, following a resolution by the City Council this week to override an airport committee decision that found the site was too loud for housing.

The project, slated to include 184 apartments, the grocery store and other retail, plus three six-story life science buildings, is the latest proposal for a long vacant 14-acre parcel at 180 El Camino Real.

The site was previously occupied by a Safeway that shuttered in 2014 ahead of anticipated redevelopment. The city had approved a project that was to include 284 new homes and 220,000 square feet of retail, which the previous owner was unable to move forward.

The latest plans were brought by SteelWave in 2021, a Foster City developer that has since purchased the site. The envisioned new Safeway would be 64,000 square feet — a flagship facility open 24 hours a day complete with a pharmacy, a representative from the grocer told planning commissioners last year.

The latest plans for the development at 180 El Camino Real in South San Francisco were brought by SteelWave

Another 10,000 square feet for other shops would also be included, and the apartments would be located in a seven-story building at the northeast corner of the lot, with parking provided in a separate garage.

The proposal, however, hit a potential snag earlier this month when the Airport Land Use Committee, with the City/County Association of Governments for the county, determined the location receives too much noise from airplanes to be suitable for housing.

The City Council this week unanimously agreed to override the decision, pointing to other benefits the location offers, including its proximity to the San Bruno BART station, which is less than a half mile away, and the grocery store on site increasing walkability.

“We’re really developing a new neighborhood that really will interface greatly with public transit,” said Councilmember Mark Addiego.

He also pointed to a 338-unit housing development approved in 2020 for 410 Noor Ave., a location adjacent to the Safeway project closer to the airport. The City Council at the time similarly overrode the airport committee’s decision.

“It’s not my favorite committee, let’s put it that way,” said Mayor Mark Nagales. “In terms of the projects we keep bringing in front of them, it’s pretty much a very strict definition, and if it doesn’t pass their definition it’s an automatic no vote.”

In 2021, a Foster City developer that has since purchased the site. The City Council this week unanimously agreed to override a decision by the Airport Land Use Committee, determining the location receives too much noise from airplanes to be suitable for housing, pointing to other benefits the location offers.

If the project were across the street from Huntington Avenue, it would be cleared per the committee’s criteria, said Billy Gross, the city’s principal planner. He said the site is reportedly subject to 70 decibels, and the developer’s intent is to reduce residential interior noise to 45 decibels or less.

The Shops at Tanforan is also roughly a half a mile away, closer to the San Francisco International Airport. It is planned for redevelopment into a biotech space and 1,000 units or more of housing. Closer still are existing neighborhoods of single-family homes.

City Attorney Sky Woodruff said the council’s override would not open the city to potential litigation.

The council’s action informs both the airport commission and Caltrans Division of Aeronautics of its intent. A formal vote on the matter will take place sometime in September, said Gross. The Planning Commission is also set to review the project next month.

corey@smdailyjournal.com

(650) 344-5200, ext. 105

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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’s 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.

Council member Mark Addiego hopes the new site will open 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.

nick@smdailyjournal.com

(650)344-5200 ext. 105

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Another major retailer in San Francisco is cutting its hours due to what one city official called “increasing” theft in the shop.

The Safeway located in San Francisco’s Castro neighborhood, standing on Market and Church, was a longstanding, 24-hour fixture in San Francisco’s Castro neighborhood.

But as of last week, the store’s hours have been cut back to 6 am to 9 pm, the earliest closing time of the 15 Safeway markets in the city – most of which shut at 11 pm or midnight.

A Safeway spokesperson told Hoodline, which first broke the news, that the cutbacks are “due to an increasing amount of theft at the store.” Earlier this year, the company reportedly grappled with high rates of grocery carts being stolen from storefronts.

District 8 Supervisor Rafael Mandelman told KPIX and Hoodline that the shutdown is part of a larger trend in retail theft.

“I think the last six months from what they say has been sort of off the charts in terms of how bad it’s been,” he told KPIX. “It’s sad, upsetting and frustrating.”

And while retail theft has historically been a troubling issue in San Francisco, and has gained national media attention as of late – especially following a viral video shared by KGO’s Lyanne Melendez of an ongoing theft at a Walgreens, followed by multiple local Walgreens closing down – it is worth drawing scrutiny into these company’s claims.

Follow-up investigations by SFGATE and the San Francisco Chronicle have contended that retail theft was likely not the lone factor contributing to those shutdowns.

And in the Walgreens case, publicly available data does not wholly align with the company’s claim. (It is worth noting, however, that retail theft often goes unreported, as Mandelman told KPIX, and that 2017 FBI data found that San Francisco had the highest rate of property crimes per capita.)

From April 1 to October 24 this year, 1,658 larceny thefts were reported in San Francisco Police Department’s Mission District in 2021, according to the police department’s crime dashboard. That number is higher than in 2020, when 1,361 larceny thefts were reported in the same timeframe. But it is significantly lower than in 2019 – the last pre-pandemic year – when 2,585 larceny thefts were reported in the same timeframe.

The company did not make its retail theft incident data publicly available; Safeway did not respond to a request for comment from SFGATE.

But no matter the cause, neighborhood customers who shop during late hours either due to necessity or convenience will have less options for grocery shopping.

Mandelman told KPIX and Hoodline that he is planning a meeting with San Francisco police and the District Attorney’s Office over theft at the Market St. Safeway.

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SAN FRANCISCO (CBS SF) – San Francisco supervisor Rafael Mandelman said another major San Francisco retailer has made the decision to close earlier due to excessive theft, especially at night.

The Castro Safeway on Market and Church Street was open 24 hours, but that is no longer the case. Signs at the entrance indicate that the new opening times will be from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. from October 24th.

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Many shoppers were surprised to find that the Safeway they use outside of business hours is declining.

“I feel like it’s definitely an inconvenience, not everyone makes it to the grocery store between these hours so it’s a little frustrating, especially for me personally. I like to go shopping later, ”says Chris Rankins, who lives in the Castro.

Mandelman’s precinct includes the Market Street Safeway. He said the company reached out to him to discuss issues with the theft.

“I think, like many retailers, they are seeing increasing property crime and theft from their stores,” Mandelman said. “I think the last 6 months have been kind of off the charts after what they say, as far as the bad development goes. It’s sad, angry and frustrating. “

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Mandelman said he is now working to organize a meeting with Safeway, the San Francisco police and the district attorney.

“It’s an equity problem,” he said. “There are many low-income people, seniors, people with disabilities who rely on these Safeway and other Safeways across town.”

Johnny Denham, who works at night, has to change his routine for now.

“It is better for me to come here after work, shop, and go home,” he said. “Now it’s like I either have to go shopping before work or on my days off, which I don’t really enjoy doing.”

Safeway did not immediately respond to KPIX 5’s request for a comment.

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Mandelman added that Safeway told him that the police rarely arrest someone for a property crime if they make it to the scene.

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A six year vacant lot will soon have a new Safeway and other retail stores at 180 El Camino Real in South San Francisco after the 14 acre site was purchased by real estate developer SteelWave.

Safeway and the developer’s top priority is to build a new 63,000 square foot grocery store on the corner of El Camino Real and Spruce Avenues, as well as additional small retail stores in the neighborhood. Your goal is to have Safeway and stores up and running in a year.

“This is one of the most exciting developments I’ve been associated with since moving to South San Francisco. And I know this is going to sound strange since this is a Safeway mall, but given the amount of community drama around this place and its importance, it’s a great relief to see this vacant lot moving forward and to the streetscape of South San Francisco contributes. ”Said manager Mike Futrell.

The city had implemented various plans to revitalize the site and the city council approved a new Safeway store in 2016. The vacant lot was a big topic of conversation in the community as it is a very prominent area in South San Francisco. Many residents asked the city council in meetings and emails what was being done for the development, he said.

The previous owner tried to redevelop the site and get a city council-approved plan for a safeway, residential areas, and shops, but the high cost of construction meant they never got the funding together to make it work, Futrell said.

“The escalation in construction costs is a real barrier to building anything, be it a Safeway or affordable housing or anything else,” he said.

Negotiations are ongoing and other parts of the site could potentially include more retail, restaurants and a gym.

Applicants propose improvements to the site plan and appearance of the building, and these revisions are reviewed by the Design Review Board and the Planning Commission. The Safeway store and associated retail space will comprise approximately 3 acres of the 14 acre site. Further uses for the rest of the property are in the conceptual planning and are being examined by the city.

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One San Francisco Safeway has moved all shopping carts into the store after 160 of them were allegedly stolen last month, Hoodline reports.

A number of customers were amazed when they arrived at the grocery store on 2020 Market Street before the holiday weekend, only to find that there were no carts available in the outside bay near the entrance.

“Zero shopping carts. It appears they have all been removed, including the cart shelves that were in front of the store, ”read a Google review for the store posted by resident Paul Johnson on July 2nd. “How the hell are you supposed to buy things like bottled water? , Canned sodas, beer, seltzer or wine in the same visit ?? I tried Potrero Street and Mission Street. also shops. Zero.”

Another complaint from Upper Market resident Scott S. said that when a clerk asked for a car, he said they had all been stolen.

“They had a shipment of 160 carts last week and they were all taken away,” he wrote on a Facebook group for the Duboce Triangle Neighborhood, according to Hoodline. “What good is security if you can’t prevent someone with a shopping cart from leaving the property?”

Wendy Gutshall, a spokeswoman for the grocery chain, confirmed that changing the availability of shopping carts was an attempt to combat rising theft in the store and that customers must seek help if they want an employee to help them get their groceries their car.

“As with other retailers, the disappearance of shopping carts is an ongoing challenge,” Gutshall told Hoodline. “We are still looking for solutions to address additional shopping carts and send them to the Castro Safeway Store.”

Other large stores in the area are taking further action. Last week, almost every San Francisco destination – with the exception of the Stonestown location – reduced their hours to 9am to 6pm “security incidents” experienced by other businesses like Walgreens and H&M.

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A 22-year-old San Francisco man pleaded not guilty on multiple charges Tuesday after allegedly breaking into a car body shop in Belmont and stealing thousands of dollars in equipment on Sunday and stealing it from a grocery store in town a day later. San Mateo County prosecutors said.

Armani Blanco is charged with burglary, vandalism and shoplifting after his arrest. He is charged with breaking into the Extreme Auto Body Shop on 1300 Old County Road at around 10:20 p.m. Sunday and stealing two computers and two sensor tools totaling about $ 9,600, prosecutors said.

The shop owner discovered the break-in the next day and called the police. The store’s surveillance footage showed Blanco breaking in and stealing the items, prosecutors said.

On Monday, Blanco allegedly stole $ 423 worth of groceries from a Safeway store in Belmont, but was caught by police within minutes.

He remains in custody and is expected to return for a preliminary court hearing on April 27.

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