WALNUT CREEK, CALIFORNIA – When we published a long story last month about The Foundry, a massive new European-style food hall planned for downtown Walnut Creek, our coverage was met with both excitement and anger.
No, the anger wasn’t about parking! (Well, it wasn’t just about parking…)
While lots of readers were excited over the vision for downtown Walnut Creek’s new 24,000+ square foot development, multiple people wrote in to tell us the project was dead and would never happen.
We wanted to find out the truth. So we reached out to developer Brian Hirahara of BH Development, the man behind The Foundry (as well as several of Walnut Creek’s favorite dining spaces, as we’ll get into below).
In a conversation with the Bay Area Telegraph, Hirahara shared exclusive details about the vision for the Foundry–and what’s really happening with the project right now.
The Vision
Hirahara told us that The Foundry was originally approved before the COVID-19 pandemic and was slated to begin construction when the pandemic hit.
The new development would feature a multi-story food hall, highlighting local vendors and restaurants, as well as a large outdoor beer garden and potentially a rooftop terrace. (The project has gone through several iterations, but renderings from multiple versions together give a great sense for the vibe of the proposed space.)
Hirahara told us lots more about his original vision for the project. In his words, “I saw a need for public gathering space for community in Walnut Creek, centered around food and drink. Everyone craves that.”
The Foundry was intended to create just such a space. Hirahara agreed with our comparison to other food halls around the Bay Area, like Eataly down in San Jose, with an important caveat: while most existing food halls are owned and operated by a single, often national company, the Foundry was intended to showcase multiple local restaurants and vendors in a single space.
Stylistically, Hirahara compared the space to another one of his local projects–the building housing Slice House, Teleferic Barcelona and Rooftop.
That building uses reclaimed brick, lovely outdoor landscaping, and a multi-story central staircase with the very cool chandelier seen above (Hirahara’s idea, he told us) to tie together its three restaurant tenants into a unified space.
The Foundry would be like that, Hirahara said, but on a much grander scale. Instead of a small central staircase, a large outdoor beer garden would connect the various spaces together.
And just like in his other building, a rooftop bar or terrace could potentially provide additional outdoor space, as well as sweeping views of downtown.
The new building would also borrow elements from Va De Vi (and would back to the existing restaurant), another of Hirahara’s properties.
On practical matters like parking, our review of public records showed that the Foundry would participate in a program from the City of Walnut Creek whereby developers can pay an “in lieu” fee, essentially funding space in city lots instead of building parking of their own.
Hirahara confirmed this, explaining that there are over 1,500 parking stalls within a few blocks of the Foundry’s space at 1250 Locust Street, as well as plenty of local transit options. Although Hirahara said he understands people like the convenience of street parking, Walnut Creek’s increasingly vibrant downtown doesn’t always make this possible.
Where the Project Stands Today
So, where does the Foundry stand today? Here’s the good news: Hirahara confirmed to us that he “remains committed to the project” and is still working hard to make it happen.
Several things have changed since it was approved back in 2017, though, which have complicated the plans.
For one, the pandemic delayed construction, and would likely have necessitated a re-think of the Foundry either way.
In an email reviewed by the Bay Area Telegraph sent during the height of pandemic lockdowns, Hirahara told city officials that times were challenging both for his restaurant tenants and for him (his company is reportedly paid rent based partially on a restaurant’s sales, so Hirahara and his tenants had shared skin in the game as lockdowns impacted sales).
Hirahara told us that other factors have introduced new challenges, too. Interest rates have increased dramatically since 2017, and the cost of materials has increased due to inflation. Tariffs, Hirahara said, are introducing additional uncertainty which makes it even harder to begin large projects like The Foundry.
Despite a “very challenging development environment,” though, Hirahara shared that the project is still moving ahead, albeit with an uncertain timeframe. Hirahara is currently undertaking redesign efforts to get the Foundry off the ground.
In the meantime, Hirahara and BH Development are keeping plenty busy. Hirahara told us that one of his restaurant tenants, the Chateau, just celebrated its one-year anniversary (we reviewed it briefly last year and originally broke the news of its existence.)
Hirahara is also working on a new space above Va de Vi, with a rooftop bar and taproom for Calicraft Brewing.
Speaking off the record, Hirahara shared some existing details about that project–make sure to join our free 925 News newsletter so we can share them with you as soon as they’re ready for public release.
We’ll leave you with one final thought. Building massive properties is a long game. City Center Bishop Ranch was pitched in 2005, and approved in 2007. A decade later, it still hadn’t broken ground, and plenty of people claimed it would never happen.
The development finally did go ahead, though. Today, it’s a thriving hub that’s almost fully leased out, with awesome restaurants, entertainment, and a central gathering space that’s often filled with hundreds of local families.
The Foundry might have encountered setbacks. But we hope and fully expect it will follow a similar trajectory, and eventually offer a similarly unique and fitting culinary and gathering space for Walnut Creek.
