Deluxe Modern Supermarket to Replace Ocean Beach Safeway

Get ready for some fancy new food shopping down by Ocean Beach.

Safeway is planning on demolishing a decades-old building surrounded by a notoriously problematic parking lot. In its place will rise an expansive mixed-use development, with a supermarket twice the size of the old one. Like the Lucky at Fulton and Masonic, there will be residential units above the store.

In addition, the new building may include space for small local retailers.

Safeway has now set up a website to keep neighbors informed about the project. "Our goal is to design a new Safeway that reflects the special character of the Ocean Beach neighborhood and serves the grocery needs of the Outer Richmond," the company says.

According to the website, developing the site has been a decade-long process, and they still don't know exactly what they'll build. In 2001, the company investigated a simple remodel that would have left the undesirable parking lot in place. In following years, the city pushed Safeway to develop more housing on the lot. That was followed by years of outreach and community involvement.

In 2009, Safeway suggested a plan that would have put parking on the first floor, groceries on the second floor, and housing above that. Neighbors were not enthusiastic, and that plan was scrapped. Safeway is currently revising the project and will present new ideas later this month if all goes according to plan.