The new Admiral Safeway is taking on the shape of its final form as a 140,000 square-foot mixed-use development in West Seattle.

Madison Development Group is developing the residential component, Element 42, which is a 54,000 square-foot apartment building wrapping around the east side of the project. Element 42 will feature 78 new studio and one-bedroom apartments and 58 new parking spaces. Safeway’s new retail store will expand the retail footprint from 35,000 square-feet in the former store to 60,000 square feet. The site will also include 7,147 square feet of new street-level retail along California Avenue.

Safeway’s original store closed in August 2010 and the new store is expected to open in August 2011. Element 42 is anticipated to open in 2012, along with the new street-level retail.

“Safeway has strong roots in the Admiral community and began serving the neighborhood when it built our first store here 50 years ago,” said Sara Osborne, Safeway. “We’ve expanded and remodeled the store twice to improve services offered to our customers. Now is the time to re-invest in an entirely new store, offering a diverse selection of groceries and specialty departments – including an expanded organic offering, several new expanded service departments such as a beautiful new bakery with a Hearth Oven and service sushi with its own sushi chef, a Starbucks coffee shop and a wide-array of community gathering places.”

Madison Development Group, which has invested millions to help ensure future development on the stalled Fauntleroy Place site, continues its investment in West Seattle with its new Element 42 project.

“We’re strong believers in West Seattle and as local developers, we believe we can add thoughtful design and a community-based approach to Element 42,” said Jim Gallaugher, principal at Madison Development Group.
“When the first development partner in this Safeway project couldn’t find project funding, we saw the chance to step in and help create a project that worked for Safeway and for the West Seattle community.”

Element 42’s apartments will range from 420 square-foot studios and 500 square-foot open one-bedroom designs with loft-style sleeping alcoves to 660 square-foot one-bedrooms with dens. Pricing will be announced next year.

Additional amenities include:
• A 720 square-foot amenity room, features a full community kitchen and dining area for parties and tenant events, as well as a spacious lounge area and fireplace.
• The intimate 2,600 square-foot rooftop plaza features stunning views of the Olympic and Cascade Mountain Ranges and is surrounded by 4,600 square-feet of landscaping and small trees.

Project architect Fuller/Sears and Safeway worked closely with the Admiral community to help articulate the design features most important to neighbors. The Safeway store will be the ‘greenest’ supermarket in West Seattle and will be the first to be LEED Certified.

“The design of the mixed-use project complements the scale of the existing commercial buildings on California Avenue and the residential buildings on 42nd,” said Bill Fuller, partner at Fuller/Sears Architects. “We wanted the buildings and public spaces to enhance the special character and walkable nature of the historic Admiral District.”

The southwest entrance to the project faces Hiawatha Park, and California Avenue. As a way to encourage greater connection to the park and increase street-level activity, the project team created a large, partially-covered plaza and outdoor seating area for the public.

Wider, 12-foot sidewalks will also be added along the store’s perimeter, creating gathering spaces near the new Starbucks and outdoor plaza along California Avenue.

In addition, a two-level indoor-seating area adjacent to the Starbucks store will be added and each level will feature a community fireplace and comfortable seating.

The current project team includes:
• Developer: Madison Development Group
• Architect: Fuller/Sears Architects
• General Contractor: Chinn Construction
• Structural Engineer: BTL Engineering
• Civil Engineer: Bush Roed & Hitchings
• Landscape Design: Weisman Design Group
• Traffic Consultant: Heffron Transportation, Inc.

For more information about the Safeway remodel, visit: http://www.safeway.com/IFL/Grocery/AdmiralWay-Home.

The community and members of the public can watch the new store come to life in real-time via the project’s webcam: http://oxblue.com/pro/open/safeway/2932