Rumors are swirling around the Admiral district about a redevelopment of the Safeway store, but the company say a final decision is perhaps two years away.

Some refer to the Admiral Junction Safeway as "the other Safeway" because of its older appearance when compared with its sister store in Jefferson Square. The Admiral store sits on a prime 121,000 square-foot lot, almost three acres.

"We are investigating a very real possibility of plans for the Admiral Safeway for the near future," said Safeway spokesperson Cherie Myers. "We always like to enhance what our customers want, and will never stop doing that.

"Sometimes change is met with open arms," Myers said. "Other times some don't want change." She said she thought "something will be decided in less than two years."

The Junction will soon have two new grocery stores to pressure the Jefferson Square Safeway. QFC will be locating in a new retail/condominium on Alaska between 41st and 42nd and Whole Foods in a new condo/retail building at Alaska and Fauntleroy.

Mark Wainwright wants to be ready for anything. He is the president of the Admiral Neighborhood Association and says questions of parking layout, height limits, and traffic jams along Admiral Way were aired at a recent association meeting. Wainwright said he has been in e-mail contact with representative Sara Corn, from the Safeway real estate office in Bellevue, whom he characterized as "responsive" to his concerns.

At the association meeting, Wainwright stressed that no plan was certain, kept the dialogue positive, and directed the discussion toward designs that might best serve the community, and how best to approach Safeway with ideas and concerns in the event of a redevelopment plan. He said Safeway representatives may attend the April 8 meeting, but Myers said the company has not yet committed.

Developer and architect, Brandon Nicholson, of Nicholson/Kovalchick, talked about the large swath of pavement behind the Safeway building, and noted that the house and yard on its southeast corner belongs to Safeway, which plans to relocate the home.

"This would be a huge project," said Wainwright of a potential Safeway development. "I would love this to be the coolest Safeway in all 'Safewayland.' It would be great if this became the 'sustainable, green flagship Safeway,' LEED certified."

LEED means Leadership in Environmental and Energy Design, and is a nationally recognized rating system with a specific checklist of environmentally sound building materials, landscaping, and practices. It offers a silver, gold, or platinum certificate depending on the degree to which a structure complies with its checklist. While this may sound to some as too progressive for Safeway, Wainwright urges the community to press the company with trade-off ideas.

"By allowing them to do things outside normal development regulations, like building 25-feet higher than zoning allows, Safeway could, in return, consider planning a more environmentally and visually friendly design, and also build a wider sidewalk along their 42nd Avenue property line." Current zoning allows for a height of 40-50 feet depending on apartment and commercial layout plans.

"We say we're a progressive neighborhood," Wainwright said. "Still, people here like things a certain way. That said, this (development) is a great opportunity to think about. The bad position as a community to get ourselves into is getting behind the ball in 'chasing mode.' So at the next meeting let's bring in some good ideas," he said.

"If you are driving around and see a project you like or don't like, take a picture. Understand what it is you like or don't like about its design, and bring it to the next meeting. We want to give Safeway some direction. If they have no direction, they will be designing in a void."

Steve Shay may be reached at steves@robinsonnews.com