Neighborhood blogs and e-mail lists were already whirring with excitement about the coming light-rail opening when on July 15 a news release came out from Safeway's director of public affairs, announcing that their Othello store was slated for a $3 million remodel.
Neighbors were overwhelmingly pleased with this change of corporate tune. Previously neighborhood groups had been writing letters to Safeway management and collecting signatures on petitions to complain about the undesirable condition of the 1950s relic.
Many had even fretted about rumors of its possible closure, leaving the community without a grocery store. In contrast, there is now a move afoot to hold a Safeway Appreciation Day in April 2010, when the remodeling is projected for completion.
According to Natalie Quick, of Fearey Group, a Safeway public relations-consulting firm, the refurbished Safeway will feature new flooring, an expanded deli, a bakery and floral departments, as well as a wide variety of prepared foods, specialty meats and high-quality produce.
Quick said the current 26,000 square feet of interior space will not be increased. However, in addition to major improvements in the exterior façade and signage, outdoor seating will be added adjacent to South Othello Street, thus enhancing pedestrian amenities in the Othello Station neighborhood.
She said the store will remain open during the three-month construction period.
A 'CRUCIAL' ELEMENT
Safeway's announcement came immediately upon the heels of developer Othello Partners' decision to break ground on its proposed 420,000-square-foot, mixed-use residential development, the Station at Othello Park, on the southeast corner of Othello and Martin Luther King Jr. Way South.
Othello Partners CEO Steve Rauf shares the neighbors' delight in Safeway's decision to stay in Othello and upgrade the store. He said he is excited about the company's timing in "getting to it sooner rather than later.... Their store will be crucial to the Othello town center's future as a transit-oriented community. Smaller ethnic stores in the neighborhood are great and serve an essential function, but the improved Safeway will be a draw for the entire business community."
Granger Michaelsen, who lives within easy walking distance of Safeway and the light-rail station, said he had joined the Othello Station Community Advisory Team (a neighborhood group that facilitates communication between neighbors and developers) mostly because of his concern about Safeway.
"I am extremely happy and grateful to Safeway for remodeling the store," he said. "I would not, in any way, want to disparage what they are doing. When I walk by every morning on my way to light rail, I'll stop for coffee and a doughnut."
However, Michaelson hopes that Safeway's improvements over the years will expand as Othello becomes a model transit-oriented development. "That big parking lot on the northwest corner is such a waste of space!" he said.
Michaelsen said he dreams of someday seeing in his neighborhood a pedestrian-friendly Safeway like the ones at 23rd Avenue East and East Madison Street and at the Junction in West Seattle. "It will be so good!" he said.
Other neighbors have similar hopes and dreams. New Holly resident Liza Stacishin has made architectural drawings of a plaza, colonnade and mixed-use development she would like to see on that corner.
In regards to Safeway's plans for the remodel, Quick said at this point no one knows where the entrances will be because the architects have not drawn up any plans.
However, she pointed out that the company will have an outreach process to seek input from the neighbors on how the newly remodeled store can meet the needs of the community.
AN 'INEVITABLE' DEVELOPMENT
Rauf admitted that some neighbors had expressed hope that a new and improved Safeway would be incorporated into a larger pedestrian-friendly, mixed-use residential and commercial development, perhaps with underground parking.
But he said the time is not yet ripe for that. It would simply not pencil out in today's financial recession, he explained.
However, he said that in the coming decade, as the Othello town center proves successful through the prosperity of the Station at Othello Park and other future developments projects, a larger, more pedestrian-friendly Safeway will be an almost inevitable result.
Mona Lee lives in the Othello neighborhood. She can be reached at editor@southseattlebeacon.com.
