Preliminary permits have been filed for the mixed-use redevelopment of a now-closed Safeway grocery store at 1335 Webster Street in San Francisco’s Fillmore District. The initial application proposes the addition of approximately 1,800 new apartments above a replacement grocery store. Align Real Estate is responsible for the application filing on behalf of the property owner, Safeway, Inc.
David Balducci of Align Real Estate shared the following public statement: “Designed around access, sustainability, and community, this proposal reflects our commitment to a more affordable and inclusive San Francisco.” The current plans provide a broad overview of the developer’s vision for the site, and given the preliminary nature of this application, details are subject to change in the future. The plans call for 1,800 units, of which roughly 15% will be designated as affordable housing.
1335 Webster Street aerial overview for phase one, illustration by Multistudio
1335 Webster Street aerial overview, illustration by Multistudio
The 3.76-acre property will be subdivided to facilitate the construction of four buildings, a central plaza, and a new internal road connecting Webster Street to Ellis Street and Fillmore Street. Parking will be provided for around 500 cars within a subterranean garage, connected to the residential lobbies and surveilled by a license-plate recognition system.
The first phase of construction is also expected to produce the tallest component of the master plan, a tower with a 20,000 square foot ground-floor grocery store rising from the northern corner of the surface parking. While the exact height is not provided, the initial drawings show the tower could be between 30 and 40 floors tall.
1335 Webster Street view of the public plaza, illustration by Multistudio
Multistudio is the project architect. Details about the design have not been included, though an isometric drawing shows the four buildings with limited articulation, and a few setbacks furnished with amenity decks. The buildings will form around a central public park.
Among the various state laws that have enabled Align to propose such high density, the team has pointed towards Assembly Bill 1287 and AB 2345 for enabling the team to maximize the concessions and waivers related to the State Density Bonus Law and achieve the high potential residential density.
1335 Webster Street pedestrian view, illustration by Multistudio
In the last eight years, Align Real Estate has worked on and completed construction of roughly a thousand units across three projects: The Landing, Chorus, and The Fitzgerald. The team filed preliminary permits earlier this year for a 20-story, fully affordable housing complex at 1023 Mission Street. The developer’s ambitious plan for The Cube, a 640-foot-tall skyscraper, is currently on hold.
Align has indicated that there will be more plans revealed in the near future with the following statement:
Over the next month, Align Real Estate will be filing applications to build approximately 3,500 new homes across San Francisco. Included in these proposals are approximately 500 on-site affordable housing units–reflecting one of the largest increases in on-site affordable housing in recent history. Taken together, the plans will account for an approximately $3 billion investment in San Francisco.
This figure would represent a sizable chunk of the city’s RHNA obligations. The city is currently obligated by state law to plan for and build at least 82,000 new units between 2023 and 2031. By the end of 2024, the city had built just under 3,800 units, or just under 5% of the total obligation within a quarter of the time period, according to data shared by the San Francisco Chronicle.
1335 Webster Street, image by Google Satellite
The property is located across from Japantown, along Webster Street between Geary Boulevard and Eddy Street. The current tallest building in the neighborhood is the roughly 300-foot-tall 27-story senior living tower, designed by Minoru Yamasaki and built in 1969 at 1400 Geary Boulevard.
The estimated cost and timeline for construction have yet to be established.
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I like it. Adds density, a replacement store and undergrounds the parking. The current lot is providing 0 affordable housing. 15% of 1800 is 270 units, more than most of the standalone buildings. And arguably having some market rate modern units might push some of the high income renters out of rent controlled spaces – freeing them up for those with lower incomes.
Looking forward to seeing how this plays out. Hopefully it doesn’t stall for a decade like many other projects in the city…
Great summary. This project is really good. Hope it gets fast tracked.
I am not sure how this “stiches” back the fabric of the city. I am ok with high rises but have issue with the empty “green” space between the buildings that contextually doesn’t seem to fit such an urban environment. Would prefer to see townhouses and or smaller commercial properties lining the streetscape to create a more human scaled program. Take an approach that puts what makes a city vibrant, smaller commercial spaces for restaurants and neighborhood shops along the streetscape… similar to so many successful neighborhoods around the city.
Boldly stating that you would prefer fewer public green spaces in an urban environment is a novel NIMBY take, cudos to being creative on this one…
Ok NIMBY
Karen
San Francisco already has too many retail storefronts, many of which are vacant and detracting from their communities–if only they were all as vibrant as you suggest. What does well in these other locations is primarily ethnic food (grocery and restaurant) uses and services, which Japan Center has in plenty EXCEPT for mass market groceries which Safeway offered (and needs to be replaced). We need to face facts: This isn’t 1965, people do a lot of their shopping online these days and San Francisco needs only so many banks, restaurants, dry cleaners and other service-oriented quasi-retail locations.