New plan to rebuild Menlo's Safeway store New plan to rebuild Menlo's Safeway store (January 21, 2004)

** Neighbors helped shape 'Allied Arts'-style design.

By Andrea Gemmet

Almanac Staff Writer

Safeway plans to demolish its hulking grocery store on El Camino Real at Middle Avenue in Menlo Park, and replace it with an unusual triangle-shaped store that's significantly smaller and with architecture inspired by Allied Arts, Safeway representatives said this week.

The multi-million dollar project would be a radical change from the existing, 1960s-era rectangle that squats above a half-submerged parking garage. Originally built as a department store, the structure was later split between the Safeway grocery store and a Payless drugstore. When the drugstore left, Safeway took over the entire 85,662-square-foot building and its 78,715-square-foot parking garage.

Safeway filed an application last week for permits and a change in the commercial zoning that requires approval by the Menlo Park City Council.

The building and its parking garage would be replaced with a 65,748-square-foot triangle-shaped grocery store tucked in the property's northwest corner, plus a wing of retail storefronts extending south parallel to El Camino Real, and a landscaped, at-grade parking lot.

The proposed architecture includes tile roofs, a stucco finish and parapets. The store is to remain open during the entire process, due to an elaborate, 11-phase construction plan and is estimated to be completed in winter 2006, with the retail stores ready by spring 2007, said Alexander Winslow, a Safeway spokesman.

Amenities in the new, 24-hour store would include a coffee bar with seating, a full-service deli and an expanded produce department with a greater selection of organics and natural foods, said Mr. Winslow. The new store is to be equipped with an energy-efficient refrigeration and cooling system, he said.

The triangular design, a significant departure from the typical Safeway store, is largely the result of nearly three years of working closely with residents of the surrounding Nealon Park neighborhood, said Candace Hathaway, a Menlo Park resident who was hired as a consultant to facilitate the efforts of the "working group." This group represents neighbors affected by the grocery store's operations and who live on Middle Avenue, Kenwood and Morey drives, and Roble Avenue.

The residents had a number of complaints about the store's current operations, and wanted to make sure that solutions were designed into the new store, which led to innovations such as the triangular design, the relocated and enclosed loading dock, and a landscaped pergola at the Middle Avenue entrance that's too low to permit entry by large delivery trucks, said Ms. Hathaway.

"The design is different from the original (plans), and that's thanks to input from the neighbors. They've been extremely helpful," said Mr. Winslow. "The design is very attractive and user-friendly."

Among the residents' key concerns about the existing store were noise and traffic on Middle Avenue from delivery trucks using the loading dock, noise caused by parking lot and grease trap cleaning, and odor from the trash and recycling areas. The new store should have a loading dock located away from residential areas, sound walls to protect the neighborhood from store and traffic noise, better traffic circulation for pedestrians and vehicles, and improved landscaping, they said.

Plans for the new store call for a loading dock hidden by a roll-up door along the property's northern boundary, adjacent to the Mermaid Inn and Masonic Temple, which would be accessed by El Camino Real. Trash and recycling areas would be fully enclosed, and a mechanical room would house sprinkler risers and electrical service.

The parking lot would have 387 spaces, eight fewer than it currently has. Five heritage Chinese elm trees are proposed for removal, while two heritage oak trees and five coast redwoods would remain and 125 new trees would be planted.

Approvals for the project won't happen overnight. Menlo Park's planning department has not yet come up with a timeline for the process, said planner Jeffrey Smith, but one of the first steps is conducting a traffic study, he said. The project will go before the Planning and Arts Commissions, and finally to the City Council for rezoning, he said. The level of environmental review the project will require will depend on results of the traffic study, he said.

While Safeway officials said it was too early to give an estimate of the project's cost, Mr. Winslow confirmed that the public art project associated with it will easily hit the $100,000 contribution cap required of construction costing $10 million or more.

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