Did Safeway just hint it will open a store at this controversial Sacramento site?

The big commercial building under construction at the Crocker Village project site in Sacramento may become a Safeway supermarket after all.

The chain grocery company has filed a request for a liquor license at the site, according to the state Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control database.

The license application, which will allow for take-away beer, wine and spirits sales, lists the store location at 3680 Crocker Drive, adjacent to the Curtis Park neighborhood.

That’s the site of an unresolved and bitter legal battle between developer Paul Petrovich and the city of Sacramento over a proposed gas station to go along with the supermarket.

Petrovich requested a permit in 2015 to build a gas station at the site, telling the city he hoped to land Safeway as the supermarket tenant. But, he said, Safeway would only sign a deal if it were allowed to include a 16-pump station on site.

The city rejected that request. Petrovich sued. A Sacramento Superior Court judge earlier this year invalidated the city’s refusal, saying the city council’s 2015 vote was tainted by prejudice against Petrovich. The judge ordered the city to revisit the Petrovich request, essentially to reconvene the permit hearing and vote again.

The city instead appealed that ruling in the California 3rd District appellate court. That matter is pending.

Petrovich’s company meanwhile is building a commercial complex at the south end of the 73-acre site, including a 77,000-square foot building that is big enough to house a supermarket and another retail outlet.

The Petrovich company has left an open space adjacent to that building at the site where it proposed building the gas station.

State Alcohol Beverage Control officials, however, said the grocer initially applied for a liquor license in 2015, then withdrew the application. It then reapplied in September.

The ABC typically takes 60 to 90 days to complete a review and determine whether to issue the license, a representative said.

The license application suggests that Safeway remains interested in the site, and that it could potentially open a store there without resolution of its request for a gas station.

Safeway representative Wendy Gutshall on Tuesday said her company continues to work with the Crocker Village developer, but she declined further comment.

The Sierra Curtis Park Neighborhood Association has adamantly opposed the gas station, saying it will be a detriment to surrounding neighborhoods. But the group president Eric Johnson said his group welcomes a Safeway and the jobs it will bring.

This story was originally published December 11, 2018 at 12:33 PM.