Groceries

Rockridge at War Over New Safeway Plan

A rendering of the proposed complex, with a restaurant and rooftop seating where the gas station now stands.
A rendering of the proposed complex, with a restaurant and rooftop seating where the gas station now stands. Photo: via Oakland Planning

We first noted, over a year ago, the kerfuffle over in Rockridge over a plan to take an existing Safeway and basically double its size. And the battle wages on, as Oakland North reports, as Safeway has revealed plans to totally demo the existing building as well as a gas station at the other side of its parking lot and build a new, two-story retail complex with structured parking, covering the entire site and dominating the quant little heart of the neighborhood. The Oakland City Council is set to approve the project today, allowing it finally, maybe, to move forward, but the neighbors aren’t going down with a fight. There will be lawsuits, and a number of people in the well-to-do ‘hood have suggested that Safeway might be better off concentrating their ambitious plans over at the 51st Street store, which is also slated for an expansion in the coming years. [Oakland North]

Rockridge at War Over New Safeway Plan