Admiral Safeway site: What do YOU want to see there?

losgatossafeway.jpg

That’s a new store that Safeway is building in Los Gatos, California, close in size to its current store in West Seattle’s Admiral District. Could a similar plan — underground parking, outdoor patio — be appropriate for the Admiral project that Safeway’s about to launch? It was one of many suggestions given to five Safeway reps who were on hand last night at the Admiral Neighborhood Association‘s monthly meeting. They had no presentation of their own to make — stating simply and quickly that they don’t even have a design outline for the site yet, and just wanted to hear thoughts from those at the meeting — and, from you:


Sara Corn
from Safeway repeatedly expressed concern last night about the best way to communicate with community members regarding the Admiral store’s redevelopment plan. When she expressed a hope of using the Admiral Neighborhood Association as the main or even sole community liaison, even its president Mark Wainwright urged her to diversify the communication plan. One meeting attendee suggested a great way to start soliciting community opinion would be through the store itself — use it as a way to funnel information about the project and distribute comment cards asking customers what they would like to see built. There was also talk of organizing at least one large community meeting to gather ideas and discuss concepts.

To backtrack a bit, it’s long been expected that Safeway would redevelop the Admiral site, though not into something resembling the Jefferson Square setup (“I wouldn’t wish Jefferson Square on my worst enemy” was muttered at one point in last night’s meeting). Then in February (WSB coverage here), Wainwright announced Safeway had officially approached the ANA to open dialogue about the redevelopment process.

It’s certainly a topic of great area interest; one sign of that — City Councilmember Tom Rasmussen attended the meeting to brief attendees on major city initiatives (we’ll write that up later today), and while it’s customary for political leaders to leave such meetings once their part is done, he stayed for the entire Admiral Safeway discussion. (Rasmussen lives in Alki; it was noted at one point that Alki residents have a stake in the Admiral Safeway future too, since it and Metropolitan Market are their nearest grocery stores.)

Though Safeway stresses it has no plan yet, it has hired the people who will come up with one, and some of them were present last night, as part of the five-member delegation. “We just want to hear YOUR ideas,” Corn reiterated, after brief opening remarks.

Much concern centered on the south parking lot, and hopes that some open space would remain, to preserve the space’s status as a transition to the Hiawatha park area across the street. Perhaps, it was suggested, an outdoor patio on the south side of the store.

No matter what, the site will change dramatically. The future project could go as tall as 47 feet – if the first floor is 16 feet high; there will be requests for alleyway changes, and for rezoning the Safeway-owned land on which a house now sits, along Lander. Safeway will not be the only retailer in the space on the site; opinions were mixed last night as to how big other retailers might be — lots of small storefronts? some larger ones? One attendee was worried the Safeway gas station might move onto the central site; the reply to that was a definite “no.”

There also seems to be early consensus that parking would go underground, so that the aboveground space could be maximized with business and some type of housing. And unlike some of the other current development projects on the West Seattle drawing board, this one is not being met with much trepidation — so far. As area resident (and local architect) Shanna Kovalchick put it, “I think it’s really exciting – it has the ability to bring a lot of life to Admiral Junction.”

Next steps: There’ll be an update at the next Admiral Neighborhood Association meeting (7 pm May 13, Admiral Congregational Church). Safeway hasn’t filed for any permits yet, but you can check the site history (going back 20-plus years) on this city webpage.

36 Replies to "Admiral Safeway site: What do YOU want to see there?"

  • miws April 9, 2008 (2:51 am)

    Okay, before anyone else says it, what do I want to see there? What other retailer?

    .

    Trader Joes! :P

    .

    Mike

  • Jack Loblaw April 9, 2008 (6:07 am)

    I will be happy as long as it does not look like the slum at Jefferson Square. We don’t shop at the Safeway there because of the poor parking access. The fact that it looks old beyond it’s years does not make it an appealing place to go in my opinion.

  • Jerald April 9, 2008 (6:29 am)

    I like Jefferson Square. I can do multiple errands without moving the car. The smaller Safeway is easier to get through quickly.

  • RobertSeattle April 9, 2008 (7:14 am)

    I wonder if Safeway would like to acquire that one remaining home on that block to finalize their plan… Haven’t a couple other houses on that block disappeared in the last decade and turned into parking lot space?

  • L April 9, 2008 (7:26 am)

    I like the Los Gatos design much better than what is there right now. Although the current design is not my favorite, it’s much better than the Jefferson Square site.

  • Gina April 9, 2008 (7:39 am)

    I would like to walk from the sidewalk on California Ave, and into the store, without having to walk in the driveway, because the pathway is filled with products, people taking smoking breaks, and people selling/soliciting donations.

  • patricia April 9, 2008 (7:43 am)

    I was at new Safeway in Tracy California last year. It was so much nicer than any of the Safeways we have in West Seattle. Hum…I think there’s a similar one in Centralia. They’re more complete with better departments for fruit/veg, meat, household etc. Enough room to provide a good selection of products. Much better lighting.

    I agree with Mike, another retailer should be Trader Joe’s!

    Patricia

  • Lisa April 9, 2008 (8:11 am)

    I want a different retailer. The customer service at that Safeway is the pits!! If they go to the trouble and expense to rebuild they better come in with a fresh attitude. The last few times I have been in the service was comical they were so rude and incompetent.

  • beachdrivegirl April 9, 2008 (8:21 am)

    The Safeway at Jefferson square has a much better selection of products then the Safeway in Admiral.

  • Julie April 9, 2008 (8:23 am)

    A zero-emissions building.

  • WSMom April 9, 2008 (8:30 am)

    Jefferson Square has annoying parking, but the JS Safeway staff are friendly and helpful. The staff at Admiral don’t seem very happy. I prefer to go to JS Safeway over Admiral any day.

    Morgan Thriftway is my overall fav grocery store.

  • add April 9, 2008 (8:41 am)

    For Safeway shopping (best prices for “essentials”) I usually go to the one on Roxbury – newer, huge, clean, easy parking and I can fill up the gas tank, too!

  • Jiggers April 9, 2008 (8:53 am)

    Safeway sucks. Especially the one in Jefferson Square because they’re small and overpirced. They have the crappyest inventory of goods on the floor and no room to push your cart down the aisles during peak shopping hours. I’d like to see a Krispy Kreme move in.

  • RobertSeattle April 9, 2008 (8:55 am)

    Gina has a good point – I’d like to see a store that doesn’t have that ugly 200 feet of blank wall on the California side – that’s bad urban design.

  • changingtimes April 9, 2008 (9:36 am)

    really though how many safeways does the westside need? but i guess its ok, i find that sometimes if the jefferson square safeway doesnt have much the admiral one does, has anyone seen the roxbury safeway lately? that place looks like it cleaned up!!

  • AlkiResident April 9, 2008 (10:03 am)

    The Roxbury Safeway is fantastic – above ground parking and plenty of it with selection. I go to the Admiral Safeway out of convenience, not necessarily of choice. Trader Joes would be great, not not sure Safeway would be too happy there.

  • CMP April 9, 2008 (10:25 am)

    Wasn’t the Admiral Safeway recently remodeled? If not, I still think it’s sufficient and doesn’t need such an extensive upgrade. Gina’s suggestion of having an entrance along California is brilliant though. I’d love to see a Chipotle move in to the additional retail space, although I’d probably gain 15 pounds/year if that happened!

  • jai April 9, 2008 (10:25 am)

    Are they making cosmetic changes or doing a complete rebuild? If the latter, having the store built on the street would be nice.

  • WSB April 9, 2008 (10:33 am)

    Complete rebuild.

  • lala April 9, 2008 (10:41 am)

    How about not having a Starbucks in it when there’s a Starbucks across the parking lot? The place is so small, I can’t believe they kept the Starbucks inside when the new stand-alone one went in.
    &snbp:
    I agree that the staff is rude. They aren’t outright mean, but they reek of hating their jobs.

  • Alvis April 9, 2008 (10:59 am)

    I went to the Admiral Safeway last night after dark and its west (closest to California) door was completely blocked by cartons and restocking materials inside the store. Apart from refusing customer access and exit from that side of the store, it was probably a bigtime violation of the city fire code and emergency exit standards.

  • JenV April 9, 2008 (11:30 am)

    I suspect that once the new QFC goes in across the street the Jefferson Square Safeway will be going out of business. That particular Safeway has the crappiest produce. Once, I went in to buy garlic. Every single bunch of garlic was black with mold and most were so old they were dust. I asked the produce manager if he had any garlic that wasn’t moldy…he looked blankly at me and said “No.”
    Morgan Street T-way is the best for produce, selection and customer service. yes, I am paying a little more, but I find the quality makes up for the additional cost. I agree with changingtimes: how many Safeways do we need over here, anyway??! Take out one of them and replace it with a…..wait for it…..Trader Joe’s! ;)

  • Andrew April 9, 2008 (11:32 am)

    I believe they block off that doorway at night so they can monitor who is coming in easier, prevent theft since their night crew is smaller that the day.
    To RobertSeattle: They already own the house behind the store.

  • MsBette April 9, 2008 (11:40 am)

    Amen to zero emissions! AND get rid of the cheap chinese and fat-laden deli. C’mon, get fresh and healthy! Maybe if the staff were healthier, they would be happier.

  • Kayleigh April 9, 2008 (12:11 pm)

    Sorry to add to the negativity here, but I have to say that Safeway has a woefully uninteresting deli. All I even want to eat there is a sandwich or the fried rice….everything else looks not appealing.

  • CMT April 9, 2008 (12:13 pm)

    While I agree that the produce selection is not the best, the Jefferson Square Safeway staff is extremely helpful and friendly.

  • SA April 9, 2008 (2:53 pm)

    Trader Joes

  • OP April 9, 2008 (3:12 pm)

    A 20+ table, classy poker room.

  • danno April 9, 2008 (3:23 pm)

    What in the *^%& is a zero emmissions building? There is no such thing, nor is it necessary. Kind of like zero emmissions humans, not possible, even a dead one for a while.

    Sheesh.

  • Todd in Westwood/S.Delridge April 9, 2008 (4:55 pm)

    Either a Trader Joe’s, or a Mega-Porn, pet store, beer, liquor, cupcakes and teriyaki outlet.

  • BORN &RAISED WEST SEATTLEITE April 9, 2008 (7:01 pm)

    Wow lot’s of negative vibe’s going on here about Safeway!I agree that the Safeway at Admiral needs some improvements but I was told by a Safeway checker that this store was there “cash cow” because it is bought and payed for.So make it look nicer for sure!!The parking situation is still a thorn in my a**,with customers coming into our shop they are constantly complaining, even when they shop there.The checkers are cool to me but I see them everyday and we all have bad days!!They will have to step up there game with more competition in West Seattle now and maybe a face lift will be good!!???

  • Forest April 9, 2008 (8:24 pm)

    Restore a northbound #55 bus stop to California Avenue near the Safeway parcel. Ever since the Metro brain trust turned its northbound bus stop at California & Lander into bus layover parking, there’s been no northbound passenger stop for the long stretch of the Admiral business district on California between PCC and the Admiral theater.

    I suggest more convenient bus access would reduce car trips and serve the environment at least as much or even more than trendy “green” development building construction. (Keep in mind that new technologies are often imperfect and short-lived. It’s only been a few decades since the cutting edge of electronic equipment was Betamax VCRs and 8-track tape players, neither of which is still around.)

  • Carole Allen April 9, 2008 (9:00 pm)

    TJ’s please. We will have 2 QFCs (Westwood and Jeff Sq area), Whole Foods and PCC, we have 2 Safeways 2 miles apart…plus the one on Roxbury which replaced a nice little Fred Meyer Marketplace….overkill….PLEASE let the TJ people know we want them in WS!

  • gframpton April 9, 2008 (9:30 pm)

    Trader Joes! But I also need Safeway. I love PCC and Met Market but can’t afford them for all of my groceries. Family of six. . . six gallons of milk a week. Mabye one day! I’ve had pretty good service at the Admiral Safeway. I agree the checkers sometimes seem tired, but they’re nice. I shop there every week. A remodel would be great! The inside of Jefferson Square is much better than Admiral.

  • Alia April 10, 2008 (7:54 pm)

    I hate Safeway. I’m an MM shopper. However, I cannot always afford $5 cereal at MM (nothing is on sale)…and Safeway has a wider selection of some things (for instance, “rainbow chip” frosting is not at MM). When I do shop at Safeway I always feel like the service, products and store layout is better at the Admiral location. I truly wish a we had a Trader Joe’s in West Seattle! But I guess that option isn’t being presented? Just make it look better-like the one on Lower Queen Anne, that doesn’t look so bad. AND DON’T SELL GROSS OLD FOOD!

  • Linda April 15, 2008 (11:49 am)

    No one seems to be adressing the close proximity of two schools and a park. Student safety will be impacted by larger traffic volume, especially for the elementary school children.

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