As you can see from the photos above, demolition is well under way and in a few years shoppers in the neighborhood will no longer have to endure the stale hell that is the Safeway on Market street. Instead, they’ll be able to fill their locally-sourced sustainably-farmed hemp grocery bags with all sorts of organic fruits and vegetables from the local foodshed. Or Cheerios, because believe it or not you can actually buy Cheerios at Whole Foods!
As you may know from my stalking of The Madrone I’m a big fan of demolition and construction photos. I’ll try to get by the site on a regular basis (given its central location, how could I not go by on a regular basis?) and keep a running update with new photos and movies as the months go by.
What do you think of the building? Is it a location that you’d be willing to live? Are you “meh” about the condos but happy about the grocery store? Will the presence of the Whole Foods do serious damage to Safeway’s business? Will we gain one grocery store on the south side of Market street only to lose the other one on the north side of the street? (In my fantasy world , Safeway closes and Trader Joe’s takes over their location.)
Regardless of your feelings about the Whole Foods condoplex being built, I have to say I’m glad to see that the empty site is finally an active construction site. In the long run, I think it is a great addition to the neighborhood and can’t wait to see it grow.
I like Whole Foods. But I think it’s redundant right across the street from Safeway. I’m happy to let them duke it out.
However, I’m most concerned about the family owned Golden Produce & Market on Church street. They have been providing high quality food at low prices for years, and I would hate to see us lose that option. I plan to keep shopping with them.
From the drawings I have seen, the building and condos will be quite nice, but I’d rather see a building that fits the character of the neighborhood better. This one looks far too much like China Basin new construction – in my book.
Miles,
The safeway on Market St. is among my least favorite on the planet. Which is neither here nor there….
When the Whole Foods opened in the Haight, there was a lot of concern about the impact it would have on the smaller natural/organic grocery stores in the neighborhood. At the time, Whole Foods claimed that when they open a new location, the smaller stores nearby usually end up doing better because Whole Foods raises the awareness, profile, and demand of higher quality organic/sustainable foods.
I can’t say if this is true or not, but all of the smaller grocery stores near the Whole Foods Haight are still open a year later and seem to be doing well.
As for the building style, new construction does tend to look like, well, new construction, but I prefer that over new construction trying to look like faux Edwardians or other period imitations. Hopefully it will be a great neighborhood addition!
Cheers,
Matt