The Hayward Park Safeway at 1655 El Camino Real in San Mateo may not be long for this world. Align Real Estate has filed plans to swap out the single-story supermarket and its big surface parking lot for a mixed-use project with nearly 400 homes stacked above a new ground-floor grocery store, a short walk from the Hayward Park Caltrain stop.
What the developer is proposing
According to the San Francisco Business Times, Align submitted plans today to redevelop the Safeway parcel into almost 400 residential units while keeping a replacement grocery on the ground floor. Reporter Sarah Klearman notes that Align is partnering with Safeway on the concept and has filed early materials with local authorities to start the review process.
Site details and scale
Public property listings show the site at 1655 S. El Camino Real spans roughly 1.9 acres and is currently used as a supermarket (APN 035-214-090). The parcel sits a short walk from the Hayward Park Caltrain stop. The listing highlights the property’s commercial use and lot size, details developers will likely lean on as they work through design options and parking tradeoffs. LoopNet.
Part of a wider Safeway push
The San Mateo filing is the latest move in a string of high-profile Safeway conversions Align has pursued around the Bay Area. Those proposals have ranged from several hundred to more than a thousand new homes on grocery-anchored sites. The San Francisco Chronicle detailed Align’s controversial Marina proposal, a 25-story project with roughly 790 units, and industry outlets have tracked the developer’s broader Safeway strategy. The SF Chronicle reported the Marina plan, and The Real Deal has covered Align’s moves on multiple Safeway sites.
What comes next
If the San Mateo filing moves forward, it will head into the city’s Community Development and planning review pipeline, which typically involves neighborhood meetings, Planning Commission hearings and any required environmental review. The City of San Mateo keeps a public calendar and development-project tools that list upcoming hearings and neighborhood meetings related to local projects. City of San Mateo posts those items, and local reporting on earlier Align-Safeway proposals shows that similar projects can draw vigorous public comment and organized opposition.
