Renovation to put East Bay mall back on top

Current anchors include Macy’s, Sears, 24 Hour Fitness and Walmart. The mall’s JCPenney, which had been an anchor from the beginning, closed in July as part of the chain’s downsizing program, announced earlier this year. This is the only Bay Area Penney to close its doors so far.

“Hilltop Mall has experienced higher tenant defections and has suffered from deferred maintenance over the past six years, as it’s been either in foreclosure or lender-owned,” said Leslie Lundin, an LBG managing partner and co-founder. “LBG’s ownership will be the first true developer ownership for Hilltop Mall since the end of the last downturn. Hilltop is a sleeping giant just waiting for a chance to be reborn.”

That sleeping giant is ideally located in one of the fastest-growing and richest demographic areas in the country. Hilltop Mall is only 25 miles south of Napa and within a 30-minute drive of Berkeley, Marin County, Oakland, San Francisco and Walnut Creek. To meet the needs of that population base, LBG is planning an entirely new merchandising strategy for the mall which, when combined with extensive rebranding and redevelopment, promises to revitalize the property. LBG is also exploring a larger redevelopment to take advantage of the zoning that allows for development of some 9,600 housing units, plus office and hotel uses.

“The Hilltop District has the potential to become the premier East Bay residential mixed-use walkable community of the future,” said Douglas T. Beiswenger, LBG’s managing partner in charge of entitlements and construction.

The immediate retail redevelopment will include significant upgrades to the mall’s exterior, interior common areas and surrounding signage. “We believe our reimagined merchandising and branding strategies will increase consumer traffic dramatically, will be very well received by the retail community and will be well supported by residents throughout the East Bay,” said David S. Goldman, LBG’s managing partner for leasing.