In San Francisco, grocery chain Safeway has set off a firestorm of debate after unveiling plans to build a massive 25-story residential development in a quiet low-rise neighborhood.
Permit applications filed this month revealed the ambitious plan for a sloping 300-foot-tall edifice with nearly 800 apartment units, built atop a gleaming Safeway store on the site of the chain’s current Marina District supermarket.
Designed by Arquitectonica, the project led by developer Align Real Estate would have two towers connected by a U-shaped curve and perched on the shore of San Francisco Bay.
The proposal drew cheers from pro-housing advocates, who argued it would add sorely needed housing supply to one of the most expensive markets in the country. But opposition also formed quickly, including from neighbors who worry the project would block their view of the bay.
Mayor Daniel Lurie has spoken out against the project, in part because it would vastly exceed the 40-foot height cap that his recently passed “family zoning plan” imposes on that part of the Marina District.
The Safeway project was able to skirt that limitation thanks to state laws that provide developers a “density bonus” in exchange for a commitment to include designated affordable units, overriding local restrictions.
Out of the project’s planned 790 rental apartments, 86 will be deed-restricted as affordable housing, according to the preliminary permit application.
“This is just a developer playing games,” Lurie told the San Francisco Chronicle. “We will work with anybody to do the right kind of building—and that one is just not in line with what we are doing here in San Francisco.”
District 2 Supervisor Stephen Sherrill, who represents the Marina, also opposes the development.
“The project relies on an oddity in our current planning code that artificially inflates the base project size before state density bonuses are applied,” he told Mission Local. “That approach sidesteps the community’s work and undermines a thoughtful, democratic planning process.”
Others have expressed enthusiastic support for the project, including Tom Steyer, the billionaire former presidential candidate now running for governor of California.
“Building more homes everywhere means building more homes everywhere,” Steyer wrote on X.
Urbanist Allison Arieff also expressed support for the plan in an essay for the San Francisco Standard, mocking critics who were put off by Miami-based architect Arquitectonica’s South Florida vibe.
“What we need now is audacity and risk-taking,” wrote Arieff. “We also need leadership that offers the public a clear-eyed understanding that more housing is not a ‘nice to have,’ it’s an urgent imperative. Even if some of it looks like Miami.”
California State Sen. Scott Wiener, who has championed legislation to encourage more density, also backs the project.
“The current proposal is reasonable, and the city has already zoned the site for 550 homes, even without state law. The city has long planned for dense housing here,” Wiener told Mission Local. “I support development of other Safeway sites as well, including in my own neighborhood, the Castro.”
Wiener was the architect of California’s SB 79, the Abundant and Affordable Homes Near Transit Act, which was signed into law in October over the fierce opposition of local elected officials, including Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass.
The new law overrides local restrictions to allow for more dense residential construction near transit hubs, which reduces the need for parking spots and allows residents without cars to commute to work.
Lurie fought for and won exemptions to SB 79 for areas that fall within his new family zoning plan, a move that he says will allow for more local control and cap building heights below what the state law would have allowed.
Meanwhile, Safeway has already filed plans to redevelop three other sites in San Francisco, although none have drawn the animosity of the Marina project.
The other proposed development sites are located in the Fillmore District, Richmond District, and Bernal Heights.
None of the proposed Safeway developments have publicly announced construction timelines.
Representatives for Safeway and Align Real Estate did not respond to requests for comment.
