SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO – A large mixed-use project in South San Francisco that will include a new Safeway store is advancing the purchase of a select lot for development by a real estate company.
Steelwave, a seasoned developer acting through a subsidiary, has purchased a large lot at 180 El Camino Real in South San Francisco on which the project is to be built, according to documents filed with the San Mateo County Real Estate Agency.
The subsidiary paid $ 98 million for the package and bought the 14.5-acre site from Shamaim LLC, according to district documents filed on Dec. 28.
Newmark brokers Steven Golubchik, Nicholas Bicardo, Edmund Najera, Jonathan Schaefler and Darren Hollak arranged the real estate transaction, the commercial real estate company said.
“180 El Camino was one of the few remaining opportunities to grow in South San Francisco,” said Golubchik, a Newmark vice chairman and head of the real estate company’s Northern California Capital Markets Unit. Golubchik added that the property had received “robust” interest from potential buyers.
The Steelwave entity completed the property purchase through a cash deal, according to the county records.
According to the planning documents of South San Francisco, one of the heart of the project will be a new Safeway store.
“The revitalization of this property has been in the works for many years, but it’s worth the wait,” South San Francisco Mayor Mark Addiego said in a prepared announcement.
The new Safeway store will be approximately 63,700 square feet, city officials said.
An existing mall on the site, known over the years as the Spruce Shopping Center, located on the southeast corner of El Camino Real and Spruce Avenue, has stood vacant in recent years.
Steelwave is also planning several buildings consisting of offices and research sites on the site adjacent to the Safeway business location.
The office and research buildings are expected to have a total area of 750,000 square meters, according to a very tentative proposal submitted to the city council.
With the exception of the Safeway store, 19,500 square feet of retail space could potentially be part of the project.
Steelwave is coordinating the exact plans for the office and research space as well as the additional retail locations outside the Safeway store.
Construction of the new Safeway store is slated to begin this spring and be completed in the summer of 2023, officials from South San Francisco said.
The development area is within 2 miles of the San Bruno BART station.
Residents of South San Francisco have been waiting for the retail complex to be modernized for several years, but earlier proposals had not been implemented as an actual project.
“The new Safeway will anchor and stimulate positive improvements in the area and provide our residents with more shopping and dining options,” said Mayor Addiego.
180 El Camino Real in San Francisco, a development site for a mixed-use office and retail project, concept. (Google Maps)
