
Hilltop District, more commonly known simply as Hilltop, is a neighborhood located in the northeastern area of
Richmond, California
Richmond is a city in western Contra Costa County, California, United States. The city was municipal corporation, incorporated on August 3, 1905, and has a Richmond, California, City Council, city council. .
[http://www.ci.richmond.ca.us/CurrentEvents.asp?EID=3892]
Overview
It forms the bulk of the retail commercial sector which is anchored by
Hilltop Mall. This shopping center, like many around the country, killed downtown after opening in the 1970s. The area has become a booming bedroom community since a high increase in new housing being built in the desirable neighborhood. This area is of interest due to its proximity to job centers in
Oakland
Oakland is a city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area in the U.S. state of California. It is the county seat and most populous city in Alameda County, with a population of 440,646 in 2020. A major West Coast port, Oakland is ...
and
San Francisco
San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...
, its relative adjacency compared to other suburbs, and affordability. Many single family attached and detached homes as well as condos and apartment developments have been added, along with many new shops and strip malls since the late 1990s.
Transportation
Geographically the area enjoys excellent views of the
San Pablo Bay
San Pablo Bay is a tidal estuary that forms the northern extension of the San Francisco Bay in the East Bay and North Bay regions of the San Francisco Bay Area in northern California.
Most of the Bay is shallow; however, there is a deep wate ...
due to its medium elevation. It features the Mall, a multiplex movie theatre, regional commuter bus hub (
Richmond Parkway Transit Center) and proximity to
State Route 4,
Interstate 80
Interstate 80 (I-80) is an east–west transcontinental freeway that crosses the United States from San Francisco, California, to Teaneck, New Jersey, in the New York metropolitan area. The highway was designated in 1956 as one of the ori ...
, and the
Richmond Parkway. The area is served by express
WestCAT
WestCAT is a public transportation service in western Contra Costa County (north of Alameda County, California, Alameda County). It is a service of the Western Contra Costa Transit Authority. Contra Costa County has four public bus transportation ...
buses to the
El Cerrito del Norte BART station and local service connecting Hilltop with
El Sobrante, central Richmond,
San Pablo, Oakland, and San Francisco. Extending BART here has been established as a high priority.
[West Contra Costa Transit Advisory Council Action Plan Minutes](_blank)
/ref>
Stolen sculpture
The Hilltop Retail Plaza once featured a 12-foot (3.7m) statue called "Sold" christened in 1978; however it mysteriously disappeared in 1988 leading to a 2 million dollar lawsuit.[Mission sculpture sparks lawsuit](_blank)
21-09-1988, access date 04-03-2009
References
{{Richmond, California
Neighborhoods in Richmond, California