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Luxury Housing Replaces SF's Beloved Safeway
3 Dec
Summary
- Abandoned Safeway to be replaced by luxury housing.
- Community demands affordable housing and a replacement grocer.
- The closure of Safeway impacted food access in the Fillmore.
- The new development proposes 1,800 apartments with 15% affordable housing.
An abandoned Safeway in San Francisco's Fillmore District, where the average home price is $1.1 million, is slated for demolition to make way for a luxury housing development. This project is expected to triple the housing built in the area over the past two decades, yet community leaders and activists voice strong concerns about gentrification in a historically Black neighborhood.
Activists are calling for the inclusion of affordable housing and a replacement grocery store, emphasizing the critical lack of food access following the Safeway's closure in February 2025. The store, which served as the neighborhood's only full-service grocer for 40 years, had stayed open past its initial planned closing due to community pressure.
The developer, Align Real Estate, has filed preliminary permits for a mixed-use project including 1,800 apartments, with approximately 15 percent designated as affordable housing. Smart & Final has reportedly submitted a bid to occupy the vacant space, offering a potential solution to the food access issue.
