RCPC opposes Rockridge Safeway plans

The Rockridge Community Planning Council has come out against the controversial Safeway expansion on College Avenue. In a letter to Safeway, council President Stuart Flashman called the project “too big” and the design “incompatible with the surrounding community.”

The comments echo those of many people who attended a community meeting about the proposal on June 19th.

Safeway is aggressively converting all its stores to “lifetsyle” stores, which are intended to be more contemporary and offer a wider array of foods and services. In many instances, Safeway wants to expand the footprints of the stores to accommodate the new services and to allow for wide aisles. The plans for the College Avenue Safeway would approximately double the size of the current store, built in 1964.

In addition to the Rockridge store, Safeway wants to remodel or expand several other Easy Bay locations. It recently released plans for an expansion of its Solano Ave. store in Albany. It just completed a remodel of its Dimond neighborhood store on Fruitvale Avenue. And the Montclair Safeway is currently being “lifestyled.” Also, the Broadway and Pleasant Valley store is slated for a make-over.

See all our Safeway coverage here.

Source: OaklandNews · 07-14-08 · 1 Comment »