Safeway Closure in San Francisco’s Fillmore District Signals Housing Development
The Safeway store located on Webster Street in San Francisco’s Fillmore district will cease operations in March, marking the closure of a business that has served the community for 40 years. The 3.68-acre property, known as Webster Plaza, will be sold to Align Real Estate for redevelopment as housing. The decision aligns with Safeway’s intention to contribute to addressing the city’s housing shortages.
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Safeway
The closure announcement, communicated to employees on Thursday, mentioned that the property sale involves an agreement with Align Real Estate to develop a mixed-use project featuring residential and commercial spaces. Although the Safeway store has been a longstanding presence in the historically Black neighborhood, recent controversies, such as playing classical music to discourage loitering and shutting down self-checkout kiosks to combat theft, have marked its operations.
The closure presents a significant opportunity for housing development in a city facing pressure to address housing shortages. The property is zoned for buildings up to 130 feet tall, and under state density bonus programs, the new owners could potentially build over 50% more units than originally planned.
Mayor London Breed views the closure as an opportunity to add much-needed homes to the city and has expressed interest in exploring the addition of a new grocery store as part of the redevelopment. However, Supervisor Dean Preston, representing the neighborhood, expressed concern about the potential loss of a grocery store in the area, emphasizing the importance of securing details about plans, timing, and the inclusion of a grocery store in the redevelopment.
Safeway clarified in a statement that it does not plan to be part of the redevelopment, with the closest Safeway store located about 1.1 miles away in the Castro. While the closure will create a grocery shortage in the Fillmore district, it could indicate Safeway’s openness to redevelopment projects. Elected officials have previously lobbied the grocery chain to consider allowing housing on larger sites, but those discussions were not fruitful.
The impending closure has sparked concerns within the Black community, with the Rev. Amos Brown describing it as “a blow to the Black community.” Brown criticized Safeway’s decision, suggesting it would create a food desert and highlighting the lack of transparency in the company’s actions.
As discussions continue, the closure of the Safeway store in the Fillmore district serves as a focal point for the city’s evolving dynamics, where addressing housing needs collides with the potential loss of a neighborhood grocery store.
