THE LEDE
Blackhawk Plaza Has Twelve Days Left. Nobody Has a Plan.
The deadline that could decide the fate of Danville's most troubled property is almost here. Nothing has been filed.
When Ramanujan Group filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on March 18, the clock started. Federal law gives single-asset real estate bankruptcies 120 days to file a restructuring plan or begin making interest payments to secured creditors. That deadline falls on June 16, twelve days from today.
As of this week, no restructuring plan has been filed in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Central District of California. The docket for Case No. 8:26-bk-10832-SC shows no plan, no motion to extend, and no indication that Ramanujan Group has made contact with its secured lenders toward a negotiated resolution. The property, which carries roughly $36 million in secured debt across two lenders, remains in Ramanujan's hands under the protection of the automatic stay. That protection does not last forever.
When the filing was first announced, bankruptcy attorney Adam Stein-Sapir put it plainly: filing Chapter 11 buys time to refinance or sell "in a less rushed fashion." He also noted that "some direction of what will happen to the property will become clear in the coming weeks and months." Those weeks and months have arrived.
What happens on June 16 if nothing has been filed? Technically, the bankruptcy court can grant extensions, and legal observers noted when the case was filed that the deadline "is often extended." An extension requires a motion and court approval. If neither a plan nor an extension appears, secured creditors can ask the court to lift the automatic stay, which would put the property back in the reach of foreclosure proceedings that the Chapter 11 originally halted. Preferred Bank, which holds the $31 million primary loan, and NanoBanc, which holds a $5 million note, both filed default notices before the bankruptcy was filed. They have been waiting since March.
The situation at the plaza itself has not improved. The fountain is still running. Blue Sakana, Fat Maddie's, and the Blackhawk Automotive and Cultural Museum remain open. But the broader picture is one of slow deterioration. Draeger's is gone. The movie theater deal collapsed before it started. Occupancy had fallen to roughly 74% before the bankruptcy filing, and the creditor list includes unpaid bills to PG&E, the East Bay Municipal Utility District, and the Blackhawk Commercial Owners Association that suggest the management problems go well beyond a bad month.
Contra Costa County Supervisor Candace Andersen has maintained throughout that no housing application has been filed for the site, and that any redevelopment would require full county planning review. That remains true. The bankruptcy does not fast-track development and does not prevent it. What the deadline on June 16 does is force the next move. Readers can track the case at contracosta.ca.gov/blackhawkplaza. The Dispatch will update this story as developments warrant.
THE RUNDOWN
Lucky's Is Closing. West Danville Has a Grocery Problem.
The only full-service grocery store in downtown Danville is closing this summer. Lucky's, at 660 San Ramon Valley Blvd, has confirmed to multiple employees and shoppers that it will shut its doors. No official corporate announcement has been made by Save Mart, Lucky's parent company, and the exact closing date is unconfirmed. Dates circulating in the community range from mid-July to the end of the month. What is not in dispute: the store is closing.
The closure leaves a genuine gap for west Danville residents. Lunardi's is the only nearby alternative with comparable selection, and the next closest options are Safeway in Alamo, Trader Joe's across town, or the San Ramon Safeway on Alcosta. Community chatter is already speculating that the site, combined with the adjacent CVS, could become condos. No development application has been filed, but the pattern is familiar to anyone who has watched this town for the past several years.
This is the second time in six months that a Danville anchor grocery has shut down. Draeger's closed at Blackhawk in January. Lucky's has been serving the Greenbrook, Podva, and downtown neighborhoods since the early 1970s. Several longtime shoppers noted that the staff there watched their kids grow up.
124 New Townhomes Coming to Danville This Summer
Trumark Homes announced this week that The Orchard, a development of 124 three-story townhome-style condominiums, will open for pre-sales this summer. The project sits on 7.4 acres at the corner of Camino Ramon and Fostoria Way, just east of I-680 near Costco. Prices are expected to start in the mid-$1 million range, with floor plans ranging from 1,507 to 1,799 square feet and two to three bedrooms.
The Orchard is part of the larger Borel property redevelopment. In addition to the 124 for-sale units, the site will include 43 apartments rented at below-market rates through affordable housing developer Pacific West Companies, and a 10-acre agricultural park that will showcase the San Ramon Valley's farming history on the remaining portion of the old Borel walnut orchard. Model homes will open this summer. Details at trumarkhomes.com.
June 2 Primary: What Danville Voters Actually Decided
Tuesday's California primary did not put any Danville Town Council or school board races on the ballot. Those are November. What San Ramon Valley voters did decide were five county-level seats and three Contra Costa ballot measures, with preliminary results suggesting most are headed toward outright wins without a general election runoff.
On the county seats: incumbent Clerk-Recorder Kristin Connelly was tracking toward a decisive second term with roughly 87% of the vote. Superior Court Judge Jesse Hsieh, appointed by Governor Newsom in 2024, was on pace to win a full six-year term with about 71%. For Auditor-Controller, Assessor, and Superintendent of Schools, the open-seat leaders were each pulling above 65%. Final certified results will follow from the Contra Costa County elections office in the coming weeks.
On the measures: the $920 million Contra Costa Community College District bond, Measure G, appeared to be failing, with just under 47% in favor. Measure B, the urban limit line renewal, was tracking toward passage. All results remain preliminary.
Town Council Formally Adopts New LLAD
The Danville Town Council voted Tuesday to formally adopt Landscaping and Lighting Assessment District No. 2025-1, completing a two-year process that replaces the original 1983 district. Danville property owners voted 57.1% in favor of the new district last May. The new structure closes a $1.7 million annual funding gap that had been draining the general fund, includes a cost escalator capped at 3% annually or the Bay Area Consumer Price Index, and adjusts assessments more precisely to reflect each property's actual benefit. For single-family homeowners, the change ranges from a $50 reduction to a $150 increase depending on location.
A Familiar Name Goes to Pleasanton
Retired Danville Town Manager Joe Calabrigo has a new temporary gig. The Pleasanton City Council approved a contract this week for Calabrigo to serve as that city's interim city manager while Pleasanton conducts a permanent search. Calabrigo led Danville's town government for many years before retiring and was widely credited with the fiscal discipline that has kept Danville's budget consistently in the black. Pleasanton evidently noticed.
FAMILY AND KIDS
The Block Grant That Could Save Your Child's Teacher Is Being Decided Right Now
If you have followed the SRVUSD budget story since February, this is the moment everything was waiting for. The California Legislature has until June 15 to pass a state budget. At the center of what that means for local schools is Governor Newsom's Student Support and Professional Development Discretionary Block Grant, which he raised from $2.8 billion to $5 billion in his May budget revision.
SRVUSD's tentative agreement with the teachers union, reached April 28, was built specifically around this grant. The district committed to restoring counselors, social workers, and class-size reductions if and when the block grant arrives as described. Teachers of French, Korean, Japanese, and Chinese language programs, as well as math, theater, culinary arts, and career education teachers, remain on layoff notices. The block grant does not cover those positions under the current agreement, but it restores a significant number of others.
If the legislature passes a budget with the block grant intact, SRVUSD has committed in writing to deploying those funds toward the restorations it promised. If the grant changes or disappears in budget negotiations, so does the deal. The next ten days matter. Follow updates at srvusd.net.
Summer Is Here
Monte Vista and San Ramon Valley High Schools graduated their seniors this week, closing out one of the harder school years the district has seen in recent memory. For families with students continuing in the fall, the district's next public board meeting will address budget finalization once the state budget clears.
For summer programming and recreation options, the town has launched a seasonal guide at danville.ca.gov/summer, with camps, classes, and free events running through August.
MEANWHILE, ON NEXTDOOR…
Grocery grief, coyote opinions, a tree controversy that got very philosophical, and the question of whether San Ramon ever really had charm to begin with. A selection from the feeds:
FIFTY YEARS OF AVOCADOS A neighbor posted that Lucky's in downtown Danville is closing this summer. The thread that followed was, depending on your age and zip code, either a minor inconvenience or a small community tragedy. One person said the staff watched her children grow up. Another remembered shopping there since the early 1970s. A third was in the wine aisle during the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake and has been going back ever since. Someone suggested 99 Ranch as a replacement. This was not well received.
THE TREE SITUATION San Ramon began removing median trees along Camino Ramon near Alcosta, and a neighbor posted asking what happened to the city's charm. The 47-comment thread that followed covered city budget priorities, native plant landscaping, the proper spacing of Italian cypress in a three-foot median, and whether San Ramon ever had charm in the first place. The answer to that last question was not unanimous. One commenter noted that Danville makes the same landscaping mistakes. This was not disputed.
COYOTE DISCOURSE A resident near the I-680 freeway posted that she had never seen coyotes in her neighborhood until recently, and asked why city officials weren't broadcasting more warnings. The 123-comment thread evolved from public safety concerns to population management theory to a reasonably technical discussion of hazing techniques. Midway through, the original poster updated her post to say she had probably used the wrong word and meant "invasive" rather than "aggressive." The thread closed on a collegial note. The coyotes were not available for comment.
THE TRAIN TO NOWHERE, LOCAL EDITION California's high-speed rail project surfaced again, this time prompted by a neighbor frustrated that China can build a high-speed rail network faster than the state can finish a single corridor. The thread covered geopolitics, property rights, Southwest Airlines' alleged role in killing Texas high-speed rail by disguising itself as a farmer coalition worried about frightened cows, and whether the Tri-Valley would ever see meaningful transit investment. The consensus on the last point was pessimistic.
ONLY IN DANVILLE
The Community Pianos Are Live
The pianos are out. Two upright pianos, painted by local student artists selected through the Community Pianos program, are now stationed at locations in downtown Danville for anyone to play. They'll be there all summer. No signup required, no audience expected, no skill level specified. Just a piano, a bench, and whoever happens to walk by. For a town that spends considerable energy on its quality of life, it's a quietly excellent idea.
ON THE CALENDAR
Valley Pride | Saturday, June 6, Downtown Danville The annual celebration of the LGBTQ+ community returns to downtown Danville. A good excuse to be out on Front Street on a June afternoon.
Music at the Plaza with Patrick Noel Russ | Saturday, June 6, Blackhawk Plaza Live music at the plaza this weekend. Worth supporting the remaining businesses while you're out.
Music in the Park: The Bell Brothers | Saturday, June 13, Town Green The first night of this summer's Music in the Park series at the Danville Town Green, featuring country favorites from The Bell Brothers. Free, starts at 6 p.m. Bring a picnic or grab dinner from downtown first.
A Brighter Day Car Show and Shine | Sunday, June 14, Downtown Danville Classic cars in downtown Danville. A reliable summer ritual and a good way to spend a Sunday morning before it gets hot.
THE NUMBER
12
Days remaining until the Blackhawk Plaza bankruptcy restructuring deadline. June 16 is the date Ramanujan Group must file a plan or begin making payments to secured creditors. No plan has been filed. No extension has been requested. The clock is running.
FINAL THOUGHT
Two of Danville's most recognizable grocery stores are gone or going, the shopping center that anchored the east side of town has twelve days to show up with a plan, and the state budget that determines whether your kid's teacher still has a job is being written this week in Sacramento. Summer in Danville is beautiful. The backdrop is complicated.
THE SIDELINE
SRV Softball's Season Ends, But What a Season It Was
The San Ramon Valley softball season ended June 2 in the NCS playoffs, a 4-3 loss to Saint Francis that snapped an 11-game winning streak and closed out a 23-7 final record. It was a hard way to go out.
Pitcher Lila McLeod gave everything in the final: 6.2 innings, six hits allowed, just one earned run. The three unearned runs tell a frustrating story on their own. At the plate, Natalie Sun went a perfect 3-for-3 with a home run, her first of the season. A .451 batting average on the year. The Wolves were good enough to win that game. Sometimes good enough isn't.
Saint Francis entered that game having won nine straight at home and finished at 26-4. The Wolves held them to four runs. This was not a blowout; it was a close game against a very good team, and SRV belonged there.
For a program that went 23-7 and 11-2 in EBAL play, this was not a disappointing season. It was a genuinely excellent one. The spring sports calendar is now closed for both schools. Summer workouts will begin before anyone has had enough time off.
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