Why Moraga's Rheem Side Is Suddenly the Interesting Half of Town

For years the running joke among long-time residents was that Moraga's two shopping centers were a study in what happens when one property owner engages and the other does not. That joke is finally aging out. The scaffolding is down at Rheem Valley Shopping Center, a grocery store is rising from a foundation pit, and the town's fall calendar is quietly clustering around the Rheem side of Moraga Road. If you live here, the texture of a regular weekend is about to look different than it did a year ago.

The Paint Job Is the Least of It

Walk the sidewalk in front of CVS and you will notice what Lamorinda Weekly reporter Vera Kochan documented in early July: the scaffolding has come down and the buildings' façades look visibly different. Rotting wood has been repaired, chocolate brown and dark green exteriors have been replaced with white and golden-brown paint, and large gold lettering now identifies each business by name.

That is cosmetic. The structural change is happening on the north end of the lot. US Realty Partners is leading a major redevelopment that includes demolition of roughly 17,000 square feet to construct a new grocery store, with completion expected in 2026. Grocery Outlet has moved full speed ahead, with locals anticipating a grand opening projected for early 2027. The chairman of Grocery Outlet, Eric Lindberg, lives in Lafayette and will soon only have to drive four miles to shop at one of his stores, which is the kind of small biographical detail that tends to keep a project on schedule.

Here is the piece that most residents have not yet caught: a Chipotle is replacing the Bank of America ATM machine, and the Saint Mary's College Rheem Campus is now on the market, with Kosmont in discussions with the college about the site's redevelopment; SMC is also looking to add more on-campus housing and would like Moraga to look more vibrant to attract more students.

Why the Town Council Suddenly Stopped Waiting

The shift in energy toward Rheem is not accidental. In January the Town Council entered into a one-year professional services agreement with Kosmont Companies for $60,000 to provide on-call real estate and economic development advisory services, and new Moraga Mayor Kerry Hillis used the Jan. 14 meeting to demand significant changes, framing the professional services agreement as the start of a different posture.

His language at that meeting was blunt. Hillis reminded the council that the town had spent roughly three years building rapport with Moraga Shopping Center property owners and had even upzoned the area, increasing its value by "tens of millions of dollars. Potentially hundreds of millions of dollars" to no avail. He contrasted that with Rheem, whose owners are more than happy to work with the town, citing the recent CVS exterior upgrade and the incoming Grocery Outlet, and noting other ways Rheem has out-shined Moraga's downtown, with the only post office, the Town Offices and Chambers, and two gyms located on that side of town.

The practical takeaway for residents is simple. When you plan errands, meetings, and evenings out for the next eighteen months, the center of gravity is Rheem.

What's Actually Changing, at a Glance

Thursday Nights Have a Different Center

While the retail story unfolds, the town's summer social calendar has already re-anchored. The 2026 concert schedule at Moraga Commons Park runs Thursday evenings through August, with Dream Like Taylor and Cassie B on August 13, Fleetwood Mask on August 20, and closes with HouseRockers playing a 12 to 3 p.m. set at the Pear and Wine Festival on September 26.

The concert series has one of those quietly good structural details that makes it work. Food trucks handle dinner, Loard's Ice Cream handles dessert, and the Lions and Kiwanis Clubs pour the beer and wine, which is why the same families keep returning without ever seeming to plan it. If you have not yet made it out this summer, Fleetwood Mask on the 20th is the last full-length evening slot before the season closes.

Where August Actually Lands

If you have out-of-town guests over the next few weeks, the itinerary writes itself and it is almost entirely on the Rheem side.

• Moraga Art Gallery. The "Connectivity" exhibit is on view through Aug. 16 at 432 Center Street in the Rheem Valley Shopping Center, open noon to 5 p.m. Wednesday to Sunday.
• Rheem Theatre. The Art Deco house operated by Cinema West has been remodeled with electric reclining lounge chairs and an updated sound system, and summer hours run noon to 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday. It sits directly across the parking field from the gallery, which makes a gallery-plus-matinee afternoon a two-minute walk.
• Moraga Historical Society appraisal fundraiser. In partnership with Michaan's Auctions, the society will provide verbal fair market appraisals for up to three items (paintings, sculpture, stamps, coins, jewelry, watches, furniture, Asian art, sports memorabilia) on Sunday, Aug. 30 with timed entry between 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. at the Casita at Hacienda de las Flores, 2100 Donald Dr., with a $20 donation for members and $25 for guests. This is the kind of event you plan around for the pleasure of finally learning what the thing in the garage is worth.
• Hacienda Nights. Food trucks, lawn games, and all-ages activities at Hacienda de las Flores, hosted by Parks and Recreation from 5:00 to 9:00 p.m.

The Anchor Date: September 26

Everything above is prologue to the fall's main event. The Moraga Pear and Wine Festival returns to Commons Park on Saturday, September 26, with the festival running 11:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.

The reason to circle it is not the concept, which residents know, but the specifics that make it a good afternoon. Pear pies, pear salad, specialty pear beverages, and wine from the Lamorinda AVA share the field with inflatable jumpies, craft activities, and a free petting zoo. Mount Diablo Cider Company has featured Community Crush, a cider made from the wild pear trees of Moraga and unwanted neighborhood apples, donated to the Lion's Club with proceeds benefiting local charitable causes. HouseRockers close the bandshell in the afternoon.

If you have never actually stopped at the Moraga Historical Society booth at the festival, this is the year to do it. The context they provide for what you are eating and drinking, and where the pears in question originally came from, is the sort of detail that changes how you look at the vacant lots you drive past on Moraga Road.

What This Adds Up To

The interesting thing about the current moment is not any single opening. It is that the passive sentence residents have been using for years — "someday something will happen at Rheem" — no longer describes reality. Town Manager Scott Mitnick, delivering the June 24 Economic Development Update, described the community as "clamoring for positive redevelopment", and for the first time in a long time the sentence tracks with the visible construction, the fresh paint, and the announced tenants.

For anyone who has lived here through a decade of stalled promises on Center Street and Moraga Road, the shift is small but real. The best way to feel it is to spend an afternoon on the Rheem side and notice how many things are happening within a five-minute walk of the theatre marquee.

When You're Ready to Talk Home

Whether your interest in Moraga's next chapter is civic curiosity or something closer to home, Paddy Kehoe Team has spent years watching how commercial change reshapes the residential streets around it. If you would like a grounded read on what all of this means for your block, schedule a free Home Strategy Session and we will make time for the conversation.