A developer is looking to build 3,500 housing units in San Francisco in the coming years, about half of which would be in a mixed-use development at the site of the former Safeway in the Fillmore.

Developer Align Real Estate has finally submitted their plans for the former Safeway and its parking lot at Webster and Geary in the Fillmore neighborhood. And rather than the 1,000 or so units that were first discussed for the 3.68-acre site, Align revealed Monday that they are looking to build 1,800 units under the state's density bonus program, with around 15% of them designated affordable.

The Safeway store closed in January after 40 years in business before any concrete development plans had been shown to the public, but Safeway said it was closing the store ahead of any future development due to declining sales and "persistent theft."

The store had originally announced a March 2024 closing date, but former Supervisor Dean Preston negotiated with the company to keep the store open through all of last year.

Current District 5 Supervisor Bilal Mahmood tells the Chronicle that he's endorsing Align's proposal, in particular because it includes a replacement grocery store. The company says it is in talks with grocery chains, but they have not inked a deal with any yet.

Mahmood says that the issue of a replacement store was a "deal breaker," and he tells the paper, "We are happy that they are submitting an application with a permanent store in mind."

The proposed mixed-use development would include buildings of multiple heights, including a 30-story tower near the Geary Boulevard end — the base of which would be home to a 20,000-square-foot grocery store.

Phasing of the project would potentially allow for the existing, vacant, 40,000-square-foot store space to be reactivated while construction takes place on the rest of the site, as the Chronicle notes. It could be well over a year before groundbreaking even begins on the site, and several years before any part of the development may be complete.

We learned back in May that Smart & Final had put in a bid to take over the store on a temporary basis, and it's unclear where that deal stands.

Meanwhile, the shopping center that faces both Fillmore Street and the interior parking lot on the east side of the site, which is home to a Popeye's as well as a laundromat, several shops, a gym, and an Indian grocer, is not part of this site and will remain in place, as seen in the rendering above.

According to a statement from Align Real Estate, the proposed development would include a "diverse mix of unit types, income levels and uses" to create "an inclusive, mixed-income community that aligns with San Francisco’s broader housing goals." The plan includes green space in the center of the site, a restaurant facing Webster Street, 500 parking spaces in a parking structure, and approximately 270 below-market-rate units.

The plan could still face pushback from neighborhood activists, in particular the Rev. Amos Brown, who penned an op-ed in December 2024 calling on the city to block Safeway's plan to profit from this deal. Brown's argument stemmed in part from the controversial redevelopment of the Fillmore neighborhood in the 1960s, which led to mass displacement of Black residents, and ultimately led to the city cutting a sweetheart deal with Safeway in the 1970s to install a store there. Brown called the plans "corporate arrogance of the highest order," and decried the fact that neither Safeway nor the developer had met with the community about this second redevelopment effort.

Align, which is based here in SF, has also revealed that it has plans for another 1,700 units elsewhere in the city, which will be submitted after this application is complete.

Align is the firm behind the SoMa high-rise residential building Chorus, and it has reportedly been in talks with Safeway about the Webster Street site for several years. It's unclear what other sites Align has its sights on.

Previously: Grocery Chain Smart & Final Reportedly Makes Bid for Shuttered Fillmore Safeway Space