Preliminary permits have been filed for the fourth Safeway redevelopment proposal in San Francisco. This time, project developer Align Real Estate is looking to replace the grocery store with a 25-story sloped tower, containing nearly eight hundred rental apartments, at 15 Marina Boulevard in the Marina District.
15 Marina Boulevard vertical elevation, illustration by Arquitectonica
15 Marina Boulevard sidewalk view, rendering by Arquitectonica
The application utilizes Senate Bill 330 to streamline the approval process and the State Density Bonus law to increase residential capacity by 39% above base zoning. SB 330 is a state law that prohibits local jurisdictions from enacting new laws that could downsize or delay new housing for qualifying proposals.
The recent SB330 pre-application has allowed Align Real Estate to lock existing planning code provisions for the site. The developer has also invoked Assembly Bill 2011, which streamlines potential housing on commercially zoned lots in exchange for a certain threshold of on-site affordable housing and workforce commitments.
15 Marina Boulevard, showcasing the new grocery store entrance, rendering by Arquitectonica
15 Marina Boulevard site plan, illustration by Arquitectonica
The roughly 297-foot-tall structure is expected to yield over a million square feet, including 744,700 square feet of housing, 63,200 square feet for the replacement grocery store, and 236,250 square feet for the subterranean garage. The project is expected to produce 790 rental apartments, of which 86 will be deed-restricted as affordable housing. Apartment sizes will vary with 88 studios, 485 one-bedrooms, 132 two-bedrooms, and 85 three-bedrooms. The garage will provide 164 spots for retail parking and 473 spaces for residential vehicular parking. Overall capacity for bicycles has not yet been specified.
Arquitectonica is responsible for the design. The complex will feature two asymmetrical peaks rising from the shared podium. As is typical with Arquitectonica’s portfolio, there is hardly a straight line across the building, with swooping balconies and curved walls wrapped around a central podium-top courtyard. The main entrance for the new grocery store will feature a wide, protruding canopy above curtainwall glass, an homage to the existing modernist storefront.
15 Marina Boulevard, image via Google Satellite
Demolition will be required for the existing 1959-built structure, a modernist facility designed by Wurster, Bernardi & Emmons, featuring a mosaic art piece on the eastern exterior.
The roughly 1.8-acre property is located along Marina Boulevard between Buchanan Street and Laguna Street. Future residents would overlook Fort Mason, Gashouse Cove, and offer direct views of the Golden Gate Bridge.
The application for 15 Marina Boulevard is the latest and evidently the most controversial of four plans to replace a Safeway in San Francisco. The previous applications were located in the Fillmore District, Richmond District, and Bernal Heights. The estimated cost and timeline for construction have yet to be shared.
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With the mayor explicitly stating he’s against this project and will use all in his power to block it, I wonder if this dead upon arrival?
Would be interesting to see a “YIMBY” mayor actually deliver some using rather than blow hot air at a theoretical rezoning. Wanna know what adds to the housing supply? Developers that come with a plan to permit and build EXACTLY what the people want. Wanna know what stagnates society? Keeping a surface parking lot of an overpriced grocery store in a prime location as is.
I wanna say don’t F this up San Francisco, but it seems highly inevitable.