The Burlingame Voice

Retail Update (Primrose)

A blogger was thinking the same thing I was regarding the 203 Primrose shops...i.e. how's it coming?  I was pleased to see all five spaces being worked on yesterday.  Four of them (Which Wich, It's a Grind, Yogurtland and Pizza My Heart) seem like they have been sitting idle for a long time, but Five Guys Burgers is making great progress.  Fixtures are in place and they are hiring.  Here's a view of the application box that was drawing attention when I went by.

Safeway - Part 71 Grand Opening

There's plenty of news coverage about the big Grand Opening of the Safeway that you can read elsewhere, but here are a couple of photos to capture the event for posterity.  First, the Safeway Division manager (Mr. Schroeder, I believe) discussing the project with a chart on how the Working Group evolved the design

And then the actual ribbon cutting which is always fun since the ribbon has already been cut and the big scissors are fake

The eats and drinks at the reception were for real, though.  One news item you won't read elsewhere is that Safeway got its distributors to pour "top shelf" including Cristal, Caymus, Groth Reserve, Gaja, BV De Latour, Mount Veeder, Dominus, etc.  Post event discussions centered on how Mollie's, Lunardi's, Trader Joe's et al will choose to compete.  Mollie's is advertising an impressive sales (save $30 on $150 worth of groceries right before Thanksgiving).  We'll look at some of the other store features later, but here is an obvious Voice favorite from the front corner of the lot.

Safeway - Part 70 Anticipation!

You have to be impressed with the contractor(s) who are building the new Safeway.  It is a 7-day-a-week effort that is moving at an impressive pace.  We have followed this from the beginning and the anticipation is building around town.  The October 14th Grand Opening appears to be on track and those of you who check in here to stay informed should know that you will be able to get an early peak on the evening of the 13th when the store will have a "soft opening" from 6-9pm before closing until the morning of the 14th.  See you there! 

Here is the current view at night

 

Safeway Part 69 - Street Trees In

The new Safeway and the two companion buildings are moving right along.  If you walk by at night you can see there is signage and shelving going up inside, but the big step forward is the installation of the street trees on Howard and Primrose since our last update.

 
These little guys are Acer Buergerianum or "Chinese maple" and the ones on the Howard side are Acer Rubrum or "red or soft or sunset maple".  There are some cork oaks on the El Camino side.  The heritage oak on Primrose that has been a Voice favorite since the printed copy days is looking good and there are some new lights nearby as they get ready to install the small park around the oak.  Nice!

Safeway - Part 68 Sidewalks

The modifications to the street in front of the heritage oak tree are moving along as well.  The City eNews notes

Between Aug 1st & Aug 5th, new sidewalks, curbs, gutters and driveways will be installed on both Primrose and Howard; between Aug 8th & Aug 12th, the asphalt on Primrose will be excavated out and resurfaced, at that same time, a portion of Parking lot "K" (behind Walgreen's) will also be resurfaced; between Aug 15th & 17th, Howard will be resurfaced. New striping will be installed on all roads Aug 18th.

But the Big News came in a Mercury Times piece yesterday about the Millbrae store being approved.  Right at the end October 14th was announced as the opening date for the B'game store.   So next March, the traffic flow reverses and Millbrites start coming to B'game for groceries.

 

Safeway Part 67 - Fox Mall Suggestion

Now that the new Safeway and 203 Primrose and "Wells Fargo building" are taking shape, I have a suggestion.  Maybe even call it a request.  The back side of Fox Mall never really got, or deserved, much attention.  But now it is an intrinsic part of the view in the Safeway campus, so I think it's time to spruce it up a bit.  What do you think?

 
 

203 Primrose Update

The Daily Journal is describing the latest applicants for the new building on the corner where Walgreens used to be.  The building is moving right along and

Five Guys Burgers & Fries is applying for a conditional use permit for 203 Primrose Road, making it the second business planning to open in the yet-to-be-completed retail/office building adjacent to the new Safeway. On Monday, the Planning Commission will study the proposal.

That should give the Burger Joint quite a bit of competition and one wonders how it will hold up.  In the middle of the block

The old Wells Fargo building also has a tenant lined up. Pizza My Heart plans to open at 235 Primrose Road. The commission will study its conditional use permit Monday also. In June, the Burlingame City Council changed the municipal code to allow five additional food establishments — which could be anything from a bar to a full-service restaurant — in portions of the Burlingame Avenue commercial area. If approved, Pizza My Heart would be the fourth application within the boundaries.

For everyone wondering what the corner building will eventually look like, here is a reminder from the original architects' rendering

 
You can see the stairwell already on the site and the rooftop space could make for a nice little bandstand to help with the "Boring game" problem!

Safeway Part 66 - Roof Ramp

At least one Safeway project is flying along, even as Millbrae apparently makes B'game look downright business-friendly!  Here's the roof ramp that will lead up to the rooftop parking.  Good thing we will have rooftop space because the at-grade space is shrinking as construction progresses.

 

Safeway Part 65 - Mid-construction

Thinking back to the new Walgreen's project, I am reminded that it's difficult assess a big project mid-way through the construction.  A lot of Voice bloggers were upset by the Walgreen's early appearance during construction, but the dislike evaporated as it was finished in brick and opened.  Here's hoping the same will be true of the new Safeway.  The wall on El Camino and the angled wall at the other end of the lot are raising plenty of concerns on the street.  I'm cautiously optimistic that both structures will end up fitting into our streetscape.

 

Safeway Part 64 - Nice Pad

I happened to check out the "new" Safeway on Peninsula Ave. this week and while it was an acceptable facelift, I'm glad we will be getting the full treatment.  Here is the produce section of the Peninsula Ave. store

 
But I think this store will pale in comparison to the new Howard Ave. store.  Here is a photo of the concrete pad that was poured this week.  Given the magnitude of this project, it deserved all the scrutiny it got!