Redevelopment plans are created locally and enable local governments to respond to communities’ unique visions and needs. Through redevelopment, a project area receives focused attention and resources to reverse blight, revitalize business, and gain active participation by citizens. Redevelopment also encourages long-term investment into the community by creating better commercial, retail, and residential opportunities.
In 1982, the Hercules City Council took action to form the Hercules Redevelopment Agency. In Hercules, as in most cities, the City Council members are also the governing board for the Redevelopment Agency; however, the Agency is a separate, distinct legal government entity from the Council.
Once the agency was formed, a project area—the area where redevelopment will take place—was defined. The first project area, “Dynamite Redevelopment Project Area," was created on November 30, 1983, and Project Area No. 2 was originally adopted on April 13, 1999. In 2005, the two areas were merged. In Spring 2008, the City began taking the necessary steps to amend the existing Redevelopment Plan for the merged project areas to add the Sycamore Crossing and Hilltown project sites.
The City of Hercules Redevelopment Agency is committed to meeting the community’s ever-changing needs and restoring blighted or deteriorated areas within the established Project Areas. Many of these areas are underutilized and act as a barrier to new investment into the community. By restoring properties within redevelopment project areas, the Agency can create better housing, improve jobs, and enhance the lives of all Hercules residents, making Hercules a landmark location to shop, work, live, and play.