Safeway Inc. is developing plans for a potential 56,000-square-foot grocery store at the corner of Tenth Avenue and Lincoln Road in Poulsbo.

The project is in preliminary stages, according to a representative from the company. Safeway Inc. and Portland-based Tiland/Schmidt Architects held a pre-application meeting with the City of Poulsbo Feb. 1. Safeway has a year to submit actual project plans before a new pre-application evaluation is required.

“It’s very schematic at this point,” said Safeway Inc. design manager Douglas Livingston. He said planning for the project so far has been “just an investigation.”

The store would be situated on 9.77 acres, made of two parcels currently owned by Harrison Hospital and Olympic Property Group, according to county tax records. The OPG headquarters sit on a portion of the site, which is within one mile of Central Market, Albertsons and Rite Aid along the State Route 305 corridor.

The City of Poulsbo had purchased a portion of the land as a potential site for its new city hall in 2006. Those plans were eventually scrapped, and the land was purchased in 2008 by Harrison Hospital.

The land is subject to special terms according to a 2007 Settlement Agreement between Poulsbo and the Suquamish Tribe. The agreement stipulates wetlands on the site receive 40-foot minimum buffers.

Designs for the store detail a one-story building with a north-facing entrance and a 250-space parking lot.

Safeway operates stores on Bainbridge Island and in Silverdale. The company sees potential in Poulsbo, Livingston said.

“We think this is a great community we could really do well with,” he said. “It’s a relationship waiting to happen.”