College Ave Safeway to get major redo, Albany makes do with nothing much

Berkeleyside has an article on the Safeway rebuild on College Ave that is just about to start. If you want some idea of what that store will look like, check out the renovated Safeway up on Shattuck by Rose. Don't bother looking at the Albany Safeway, which will remain small but, we are told, at least get a facelift (no more smells of mildew back by the yogurts!).

The Berkeleyside article is here: http://www.berkeleyside.com/2013/07/02/safeway-on-college-to-close-on-july-7-for-major-rebuild/

That new store could have been ours. Maybe it just wasn't meant to be for Albany. The first Safeway plan was outsize, the next plan had poor traffic flow, and the final plan before abandonment had trucks pulling in and out over Solano sidewalks. Tough site, difficult designs, pokey city processing, NIMBY-ism, it seems like everyone got into the act to make sure this project was doomed.

Maybe we'll get another chance, unless Safeway pulls ups its stakes. The abandoned building could then serve as a bowling alley, a cow palace, or - wait for it - a public market filled with stalls run by local vendors of organic food (and goat meat)! Or we could just plow up the site and turn it into a large-scale community-run farm.

Stranger things have been wished for in Albany.