SF Approves 848-Unit Marina Safeway Towers and CPMC Lung Screening

Landmark waterfront housing approvals and preventive oncology care advanced in San Francisco this week as the San Francisco Planning Department gave final planning approval to an 848-unit redevelopment of the Marina Safeway at 15 Marina Boulevard and Sutter Health CPMC's Breast Health Center in Pacific Heights expanded its Grouped Lung Cancer and Mammography Screening (GLAMS) program.

San Francisco Approves 848-Unit Marina Safeway Redevelopment Under AB 2011

On Friday, November 6, 2026, the San Francisco Planning Department granted final planning approval to developer Align Real Estate's proposal to demolish the Marina Safeway at 15 Marina Boulevard and replace it with a new, larger ground-floor grocery store beneath 848 apartments, according to reporting by the San Francisco Standard and ABC7 News. The waterfront complex will rise in two residential towers reaching 22 stories and 18 stories tall, with 86 of the 848 apartments reserved for low-income households.

Opened in 1959, the Marina Safeway has long stood as a cultural landmark in San Francisco, earning the nickname "Dateway" as a social gathering spot for singles and helping inspire author Armistead Maupin's "Tales of the City." Align Real Estate secured streamlined ministerial approval under California's AB 2011 housing law—bypassing traditional discretionary public hearings and California Environmental Quality Act review—and utilized California's state density bonus law to exceed the property's 40-foot municipal height limit.

The high-rise design drew opposition from neighborhood residents as well as city leaders, including Mayor Daniel Lurie and District 2 Supervisor Stephen Sherrill, who raised concerns regarding the scale of the twin towers. Project opponents also filed a federal lawsuit alleging potential environmental contamination at the property; Align Real Estate has filed a motion to dismiss that complaint, with court arguments scheduled for February. Before construction can begin, the developer must still obtain municipal demolition and excavation permits.

Sutter Health CPMC Pairs Mammograms With Lung CT Screening for 1,000 Women

In San Francisco's Pacific Heights neighborhood, Sutter Health CPMC's Breast Health Center expanded its Grouped Lung Cancer and Mammography Screening (GLAMS) initiative this month into its first formal study phase after a pilot program that screened about 100 patients over more than a year. Led by Dr. Heba Ismail, a pulmonary specialist and director of CPMC's Lung Nodule Center, GLAMS integrates lung cancer risk assessments and low-dose CT imaging into routine mammogram appointments.

Under current U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) guidelines—which were previously broadened from ages 55 to 80 and a 30-pack-year threshold—annual low-dose CT scans are recommended for adults ages 50 to 80 with a 20-pack-year smoking history who currently smoke or quit within the past 15 years. However, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates indicate that 10% to 20% of U.S. lung cancers—roughly 20,000 to 40,000 cases annually—occur in individuals who have never smoked or smoked fewer than 100 cigarettes in their lifetime, with women of Asian descent disproportionately affected and more likely to carry an EGFR gene mutation sensitive to environmental toxins.

As reported by San Francisco Chronicle health writer Catherine Ho, the first phase of GLAMS offers insurance-covered CT scans during the same visit to mammogram patients who meet current national guidelines. A second phase launching in early 2027 will rely on philanthropic donations—with funding already secured by CPMC to cover up to 1,000 qualifying women—to provide CT scans to never-smokers and other women who fall outside standard guidelines but carry study-defined risk factors. Assisted by a program nurse navigator, the study tracks family history, Asian ancestry, chronic lung disease, prior cancer, hormone replacement therapy, and high exposure to radon, asbestos, secondhand smoke, or wood-fire smoke.

The initiative was highlighted alongside the case of San Francisco resident Jennifer Morrice, who was diagnosed with stage 3 lung cancer in her left lung at age 45—11 years ago—despite never smoking, underwent surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation to achieve nine years with no evidence of disease, and then had an ALK-positive recurrence in her right lung detected in 2024 that Ismail investigated using robotic-assisted bronchoscopy. Morrice, who now takes targeted oral medication and serves on the board of the American Lung Association's Bay Area chapter, has encouraged women to participate as clinicians work to close a stark screening gap: according to Stanford Medicine, which conducted a 54-woman combined screening study where more than 50% of contacted eligible patients agreed to participate, only 5% of eligible Americans receive recommended lung screening compared with 72% of eligible women who receive regular mammograms.