RICHMOND — The dilapidated Hilltop Mall on Richmond’s northside is poised for a major makeover — but city leadership, staff, nearby residents and the property owner are still divided on what exactly it should be.
A draft of the Hilltop Horizon Specific Plan, a regulatory planning document meant to guide the development of 143 acres of Richmond land, was presented to the City Council Tuesday and drew support from community members who want the city to dream boldly, and pushback from others who think its vision is unrealistic.
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The draft calls for breaking down the site into four zones with medium-density housing on the edges, increasing to higher-density housing and commercial spaces in the center. While staff is currently unwilling to say exactly how many homes would be built under the plan, Community Development Director Lina Velasco said the city has long envisioned the site as a major hub for new housing and business development.
“We understand that this is an ambitious plan and will not fully be supported in today’s market, but market conditions are changing and always change,” Velasco said during Tuesday’s meeting.
But Prologis, owner of the Hilltop Mall site since 2021, has withheld support from the staff proposal, instead favoring a plan that allows for lower-density housing to be built. Janet Galvez, an investment officer with Proligis, said her research indicates the city has not supported high-density development.
The firm has been consulting with market experts and plans to have a development application submitted to the city by this November, Galvez said. Regardless of whether an application is submitted or not, Galvez said Prologis would like to see its interests incorporated into the specific plan.
“Our intent is to continue to work with staff and community, but we do want our vision and our plans to be heard and responded to in the specific plan,” Galvez said during the Tuesday meeting.
Councilmember Jamelia Brown said she saw no issue with slowing down the city’s planning process to give Prologis time to submit its application, noting key stakeholders have rejected staff’s proposal.
Concerned Prologis won’t built if the staff’s draft plan is adopted, Vice Mayor Cesar Zepeda suggested the city needs to find a way to “marry the two” visions.
But Mayor Eduardo Martinez and Councilmember Claudia Jimenez said the land planning process is an opportunity to be forward thinking, and Councilmember Doria Robinson noted the plan is meant to guide decades of change.
“If we based all of our decisions on what’s possible now, we’ll miss out on what’s possible in the future,” Martinez said.
Issues of particular interest for councilmembers included affordable housing development, access to public transit and pedestrian and bike pathways, and traffic safety, especially during emergencies.
Community feedback has also been mixed.
Arto Rinteela, chair of the Fairmede-Hilltop Neighborhood Council, has routinely spoken out against what he sees as much greater housing density than the surrounding community supports.
Speaking to councilmembers during the Tuesday meeting, Rinteela, who chairs the West County Wastewater Board of Directors, shared concerns about the agency’s ability to service the density proposed by staff. He also raised questions about the city’s ability to attract retail to the area and residents’ ability to afford the future new homes.
“There’s just too many unknowns at this time,” Rinteela said.
Alternatively, Coire Reilly, who also lives near the project site and has regularly spoken about the plan during public meetings, said he supports the city’s current vision. Rather than having to travel outside the city to shop, dine and seek entertainment, Reilly said he’d like more of those amenities to be closer to home, and that he welcomes an influx of new neighbors.
“I want to see what Richmond can do with this opportunity that we have here,” Reilly said. “This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for the city. I’m excited to be here living in the city while it’s happening, and I say let’s dream big.”
Technical studies of the plan will begin this year, with the expectation that a final draft of the Hilltop Horizon Specific Plan will come back to the council for final consideration in the summer of 2026.