Safeway Highlights Retail Shops, Improved Auto Access in New Design

unveiled new designs Tuesday night, with many elements redrawn to address neighborhood concerns about truck loading and auto access, for a on Solano Avenue.

The plans, viewable in the PDF to the right, include a row of retail shops along Solano and garage access, for customers and delivery trucks, designed to minimize impacts on neighbors.

Garage and loading zone access is closer to Solano than , which seems to have made construction more palatable for many who live nearby. 

A two-story garage would increase parking, to nearly 160 spots from the current 79, and ease pressure on the residential streets that bound the Safeway lot on three sides. 

By design, no decisions were made in Tuesday's study session, but comments from officials and the public were largely positive. The next step could come as early as April, in a "scoping session" to hear specific concerns and determine more architectural details. City Planning Manager Jeff Bond said Safeway's schedule would largely determine when the topic returns to City Hall.

An architect on the project, three years in the making in its current iteration, described the concept March 22 to the  and a room full of interested community members. 

Architect Philip D'Agostino, a senior associate with SGPA Architecture and Planning, said the Safeway market would sit on two levels of parking, with its main entrance at Neilson Street and Solano Avenue. The front of the store, from inside, would face Neilson, while the back would face Curtis Street.

Solano itself would host 7,300 square feet of new retail space; the grocery store would have a footprint of about 56,000 square feet, according to a staff report by Diane Henderson, a planner hired as a consultant to the city to help with .

D'Agostino said there would be a heavy emphasis on trees, to improve the view for neighbors, along with a range of cosmetic improvements, such as a "green-screen" on the parking structure, and new lights, benches, raised planters and wood details and brick, to give the property "a more residential feel."

The design includes space for an "iconic plaza" on the site's northeast corner, which would serve as a public area for the community.

"Solano doesn't have a place that everyone knows," D'Agostino said.

Albany residents who addressed the commission variously described the project as a "significant improvement, "an ingenious solution" and a "great concept," among much other praise. Several others said they remain unconvinced.

Amy Smolens of  said the designs take bike and pedestrian needs into account in an "excellent" manner.

Local architect Jerri Holan said the new designs would get rid of "a gash of a parking lot" on what she described as one of Solano's most important stretches. 

"I do believe there will be traffic impacts, but that's part of the price of living by Solano," she said.

Two speakers expressed concern about the size of the new building, which in some places will be as tall as 55 feet. 

"These new Safeway plans are way out of scale, and will change the character of Solano," said Albany resident Kyle Kosup. "It's like a five-story building.... Does Safeway really need to double its floorspace?"

Kosup said the store would fit better in a sprawling suburb, or on a larger boulevard, like San Pablo Avenue.

"Scale this down to something reasonable," he said. "People will be surprised to see how this building looks (in the neighborhood)."

But most residents said they were, at the very least, satisfied with the new concept.

"I think this store could be one of the best things that happens to the city of Albany," said Jim Cleveland, a resident of 43 years. "It will fundamentally change things in a beneficial way."

Supporters said a new store would bring new jobs, a broader tax base and more shoppers to the avenue. 

Albany resident Francesco Papalia was one of many speakers who said it's long past time for officials to move the project forward.

"This is so long overdue for this town," he said, adding that prospective businesses to come to Albany might be discouraged by the many steps Safeway has been asked to take over the years to come up with an appropriate design. "Safeway is part of Albany and should be treated as a neighbor."

Resident Ron Bales concurred with the need to take the next step in a timely manner.

"This (project) has moved like a flat rock. Once a month we kick it and it falls to the next side," he said. "I've watched so many meetings ... I didn't think this would ever come to fruition."

Even with Tuesday's mostly positive reception, a potential ground-breaking would still be a long time coming.

Albany planner Bond said that if approved, an environmental review would likely take nine months to a year to complete. The state-mandated checklist covers everything from noise and parking to traffic and aesthetics.

The review would follow three to six months of working with the architect to pin down all the site's technical details, Bond said.

Watch the meeting online via KALB 33 here. 

Everybody makes mistakes ... ! If there's something in this article you think should be corrected, or if something else is amiss, give editor Emilie Raguso a call at 510-459-8325 or shoot her an e-mail at emilier@patch.com.