“The Hilltop District has the potential to become the premier East Bay residential mixed-use walkable community of the future,” said Doug Beiswenger, managing partner in charge of entitlements and construction for LBG.

The mall is located at 2200 Hilltop Mall Rd., at the Hilltop Mall exit off of Interstate 80. It offers Bay views, visibility and access to a dense and growing residential population. The property is 20 miles northeast of San Francisco and 25 miles south of Napa, which is well positioned in relationship to rapidly growing Oakland, Walnut Creek and Marin County.

“The surrounding neighborhood has great growth opportunities that contribute to a strong value proposition,” says Russ Bates, head of the Americas of Aviva Investors' global indirect real estate group. “When considering such an opportunity for our client portfolios, we assess the prospect of repositioning a property along with demographic income levels and buying habits, and are pleased to joint venture with a real estate specialist of the caliber of LBG on this property.”

Hilltop Mall's current tenants include Macy's, Walmart, Sears and 24-Hour Fitness. LBG plans to implement an entirely new merchandising strategy for the mall which, when combined with extensive rebranding and redevelopment, will once again create an inviting atmosphere for shopping, entertainment and dining, and revitalize this formerly iconic destination in the East Bay.

“We believe our reimagined merchandising and branding strategies will increase consumer traffic dramatically, be very well received by the retail community and be well supported by residents throughout the East Bay,” said David S. Goldman, managing partner in charge of leasing for LBG.

LBG will explore a larger redevelopment to take advantage of the zoning in place, which would allow more than 9,600 housing units at the property as well as office and hotel uses. The immediate retail redevelopment will include significant upgrades to the building exterior, interior common areas and signage surrounding the property.

“We will be working with a wide variety of national, regional and local retailers/restaurants as well as introducing exciting entertainment-related concepts which we believe will create a dynamic tenant mix to serve the broader East Bay community,” Goldman tells GlobeSt.com. “The regional mall experience for today's consumer needs to be more broadly focused than in the past. LBG is focused on creating a true lifestyle engagement with our customer that is exciting and evolving so that each visit rewards the customer with new experiences and creates a sense of loyalty. This includes creating a carefully curated programatic theme of special events and community-related uses where the customers can enjoy the traditional experiences of shopping, dining and entertainment while simultaneously feeling a sense of ownership and pride in the mall.”

Hilltop Mall was originally anchored by a bright red-tiled Capwell's, JCPenney and Macy's when it was initially completed. It was developed by A. Alfred Taubman, who also developed several other shopping malls in the East and South Bays, including Eastridge Center in San Jose, Stoneridge Shopping Center in Pleasanton and Sunvalley Mall in Concord, GlobeSt.com learns.

RICHMOND, CA—Hilltop Mall was originally developed in 1976 and renovated in 2007, encompassing approximately 77 acres of land. In the recent past, the 1.1 million-square-foot regional mall has been noted for its tenancy woes, foreclosure, dated appearance and other issues plaguing its success.

But, the property has hope of bouncing back with the recent purchase by LBG Real Estate Companies and Aviva Investors. The purchase price was undisclosed.

“Hilltop Mall has experienced higher tenant defections and suffered from deferred maintenance over the past six years as it's been either in foreclosure or lender owned,” said Leslie Lundin, managing partner for LBG. “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.”

The seller was C-III Asset Management as special servicer for a CMBS securitization. C-III was represented by Glenn Wegener and Linda Simpson of NAI Global. The buyer was self-represented.

“The Hilltop District has the potential to become the premier East Bay residential mixed-use walkable community of the future,” said Doug Beiswenger, managing partner in charge of entitlements and construction for LBG.

The mall is located at 2200 Hilltop Mall Rd., at the Hilltop Mall exit off of Interstate 80. It offers Bay views, visibility and access to a dense and growing residential population. The property is 20 miles northeast of San Francisco and 25 miles south of Napa, which is well positioned in relationship to rapidly growing Oakland, Walnut Creek and Marin County.

“The surrounding neighborhood has great growth opportunities that contribute to a strong value proposition,” says Russ Bates, head of the Americas of Aviva Investors' global indirect real estate group. “When considering such an opportunity for our client portfolios, we assess the prospect of repositioning a property along with demographic income levels and buying habits, and are pleased to joint venture with a real estate specialist of the caliber of LBG on this property.”

Hilltop Mall's current tenants include Macy's, Walmart, Sears and 24-Hour Fitness. LBG plans to implement an entirely new merchandising strategy for the mall which, when combined with extensive rebranding and redevelopment, will once again create an inviting atmosphere for shopping, entertainment and dining, and revitalize this formerly iconic destination in the East Bay.

“We believe our reimagined merchandising and branding strategies will increase consumer traffic dramatically, be very well received by the retail community and be well supported by residents throughout the East Bay,” said David S. Goldman, managing partner in charge of leasing for LBG.

LBG will explore a larger redevelopment to take advantage of the zoning in place, which would allow more than 9,600 housing units at the property as well as office and hotel uses. The immediate retail redevelopment will include significant upgrades to the building exterior, interior common areas and signage surrounding the property.

“We will be working with a wide variety of national, regional and local retailers/restaurants as well as introducing exciting entertainment-related concepts which we believe will create a dynamic tenant mix to serve the broader East Bay community,” Goldman tells GlobeSt.com. “The regional mall experience for today's consumer needs to be more broadly focused than in the past. LBG is focused on creating a true lifestyle engagement with our customer that is exciting and evolving so that each visit rewards the customer with new experiences and creates a sense of loyalty. This includes creating a carefully curated programatic theme of special events and community-related uses where the customers can enjoy the traditional experiences of shopping, dining and entertainment while simultaneously feeling a sense of ownership and pride in the mall.”

Hilltop Mall was originally anchored by a bright red-tiled Capwell's, JCPenney and Macy's when it was initially completed. It was developed by A. Alfred Taubman, who also developed several other shopping malls in the East and South Bays, including Eastridge Center in San Jose, Stoneridge Shopping Center in Pleasanton and Sunvalley Mall in Concord, GlobeSt.com learns.