Align Real Estate is advancing a new seniors housing proposal in Oakland’s Rockridge neighborhood, continuing its development partnership with Safeway parent Albertsons. The San Francisco-based developer has outlined plans for a 415-unit community on Albertsons-owned land currently occupied by a retail complex anchored by a Trader Joe’s grocery store, according to reporting from the San Francisco Business Times.
The project site at 5727 College Ave. spans 1.54 acres and would be fully repositioned from retail to residential use under the concept advanced by Align and an unnamed nonprofit senior living organization. The plan calls for a two-tower complex dedicated to older adults, with a program that blends independent living, assisted living and memory care.
As proposed, the development would deliver 371 independent living units supported by 18 assisted living units and 26 memory care residences, all within a single integrated campus. The project is described as seniors housing rather than conventional multifamily, reflecting the inclusion of units tailored to residents with higher levels of care needs alongside those living more independently.
This Oakland proposal is part of a broader collaboration between Align and Albertsons that has been focused on rethinking underutilized or higher-value sites within the grocer’s real estate portfolio. To date, the partnership has announced plans for approximately 3,900 homes across four projects in San Francisco and one in San Mateo, positioning this Rockridge site as the latest extension of that pipeline into another established Bay Area neighborhood.
Unlike some earlier Align-Albertsons efforts, the Rockridge concept does not include a commercial component within the planned towers. The absence of retail space marks a shift from the existing configuration, where Trader Joe’s serves as the anchor of a shopping center, and indicates a move toward fully residential use on the property if the project moves forward as envisioned.
In a statement about the proposal, Align’s David Balducci framed the Rockridge site as well suited to aging-in-place strategies. He pointed to the location’s proximity to transit, services and neighborhood retail as a way to support seniors’ independence while remaining connected to the surrounding community. Balducci also noted that adding dedicated seniors housing in infill locations can indirectly free up family-sized homes for younger households by providing older residents with an alternative to remaining in larger single-family residences.
Details such as development cost, construction timing, entitlements, and capital structure have not been disclosed. The identity of the nonprofit senior living partner has also not been made public, and no information has been shared on how the transition away from the existing retail configuration would be phased or managed. For now, the proposal illustrates how a major grocer and a regional developer are exploring residential density and seniors housing on a grocery-anchored retail site in a transit-served urban neighborhood.
