The City of San Mateo recently released a new plan to update the Hillsdale Shopping Center by creating new outdoor and residential spaces.
The application is currently in the preliminary stages and includes the basic guidelines of the project, including fees and an overall blueprint for the plan.
“I am excited to see what the mall could possibly look like in the coming years,” said Lauren Sobajic, a junior at Carlmont High School. “However, I am also worried that the mall will turn more into a business and residential area instead of a place to shop.”
The plan mainly involves tearing down the south end of the mall, which is currently enclosed, and turning it into a large outdoor space. By doing so, this will add new retail, commercial, and residential areas, including about 2 million square feet of retail and office space, along with a little less than 2 million square feet of residential space.
The mall was first opened in 1954 by the Bohannon Development Company as an entirely open-air mall. Since then, numerous renovations have been made including making the shopping center mostly enclosed. Additionally, the development company created a new partnership with Northwood Investors in 2021. With the new partnership, they hope to make Hillsdale Mall more of a community space while maintaining the following it currently has.
As malls around the Bay Area have been updating their spaces, planners of the renovation hope to be able to keep up with their competition through the new additions.
“I remember that the mall has gone through a lot of changes in the past few years, so I am hopeful that this one will make the mall better,” said Doris Lin, a sophomore at Carlmont High School. “The mall is definitely a little outdated when you compare it to the other malls around the area like Stanford Mall.”
Similar to Lin, Natalie Dronskiy, the store manager at PacSun, believes that the mall is lagging behind its competitors.
“Looking to other malls in the area like Serramonte and Valley Fair, they have a lot more features than we do,” Dronskiy said. “So, I think adding more could definitely increase the popularity of the mall.”
The renovation’s design plan was created by Gehl Studio and HOK. Through the partnership, the companies have developed numerous drawings and blueprints with possible ideas of what the mall could look like in the future. The drawings include community outdoor spaces with large residential and commercial buildings in the background.
“I think the current outdoor space the mall has is really nice, but I hope that it keeps some of its indoor space because a lot of malls in the area are outdoor,” Lin said. “That is what makes Hillsdale Mall unique.”
While the plan is almost fully outlined, it is still missing many key aspects, including a timeline and estimated cost, as it is awaiting approval from the San Mateo City Council.
“I am excited to see what new additions are going to be made to the mall and how it will change the shopping experience,” Sobajic said.
