Blackhawk Plaza is in a full overhaul this summer, now showing great progress. The $40 million remodel and expansion will enhance and modernize the old luxury shopping center from when it opened its doors eighteen years ago.

Over a dozen unnamed stores are already signed to occupy spaces for the much anticipated grand re-opening.  Some are said to be national brands that are not already found in the East Bay or even the Bay Area.

The old plaza was a luxury complex meant to draw shoppers from all around the Bay featuring its grand water park and bridges teaming with beautiful fish, floating ducks and swans. The focal point was the modern Smithsonian Institute Behring Automotive Museum for vehicle enthusiasts.  The Plaza boasted 210,000 square feet of shopping space encompassing 45 acres. It grandeur impressed with it luxury and unique boutiques and chic Blackhawk grocery market that had baggers in tuxedos and was best known for gold plated shopping carts with mobile phones and its fashionable black and white tile floors and dim ambiance. Those days have long gone as buyer gawked yet did not buy forcing tenants to leave.

Now years Later Draeger's, a new casual chic grocery store has replaced Gottshalks as the new anchor store with already increased foot traffic and profits. The store draws buyers with its culinary store, cooking school, ready made foods made from scratch by gourmet chefs, a tasty bakery and cook book library with reading area. The food itself comes in a larger variety for every taste, and offers ingredients found nowhere else within its 43,000 square feet of shopping space.

Anthroplogie is set to open this summer in a new building expanding the shopping space with room for another tenant as well. Shelves are already being stalked as Blackhawk residents anticipate its opening. White House Black Market has already made its debut to the plaza for its sophisticated shoppers.

The shopping space and exterior itself will boast new amenities with comforts of outdoor fireplaces and seating areas and a playground and grassy areas for children to play and roam about. The water park that was the main attraction years ago is to be newly enhanced with sophisticated lighting that will be thus featured by fresh storefronts and dining patios.

Other stores have already taken up residence in the plaza including a very large and cozy Starbucks. This new location has a Blackhawk small town feeling to it with recognizable faces behind the counter and friends in business meetings or lounging within the multiple seating areas throughout the coffee shop.

The one thing that Blackhawk locals love besides their designer bags and shoes are there Sunglasses. Now Visual Expressions indulges these obsessions with a very personalized shopping experience for the eyeglass aficionado.

Catering to the smaller folk is a new G.R. Doodlebug opening its third local store, indulging children's love of toys, books and stickers. Hush Baby also serves the needs of mother and toddler with its extensive variety of specialty merchandise.

Residents could not be more excited about the promise of a new local shopping destination. Locals have had to travel as far as Stoneridge or Walnut Creek to find a decent shopping experience. The upgrade has been long overdue and very well deserved with a average local income to boast which rivals many of the most affluent neighborhoods. Such a demographic is a retailer's dream matched only by Palo Alto's Stanford and Beverly Hill's Rodeo Drive. The Goal for this luxury shopping destination is that it will be favored far beyond others and even draw buyers away from having to go as far as S.F.'s Union Square.

This is exactly what our community has been needing and for a long time. It should even refresh the housing market by bringing with it a  revitalized interest in the community. Buyers favor areas such as Palo Alto and Beverly Hills because of not only the dream homes but the luxury shopping which creates an aura of prosperity which draws buyers. Blackhawk already has the community to boast but now will have a Shopping experience to boot!

I Wonder what stores are comming? Any news let me know.....