Restoration Hardware has killed its plans for a 30,000-square-foot luxury showroom and restaurant complex at Broadway Plaza, leaving one of downtown Walnut Creek's most prominent sites without a tenant or a public timeline for redevelopment.

The project's demise became official on May 29, when Gaurav Ambekar, a project manager with MBH Architects representing RH, emailed the city's planning department to withdraw the application. "I am formally requesting that the City of Walnut Creek cease any further activity, review, or public notification processes regarding this application," Ambekar wrote, according to the San Francisco Chronicle, which obtained the email.

No explanation accompanied the withdrawal. RH, MBH Architects, and Broadway Plaza owner Macerich all declined or did not respond to the Chronicle's requests for comment.

As we reported July 17, the application had been pulled from the city's review process. But the Chronicle's reporting, published Friday, July 24, confirms the project is dead, not merely paused.

What was planned

The Corte Madera-based retailer proposed demolishing the former Neiman Marcus building at 1000 South Main St. and the shuttered Chico's at 1401 Mt. Diablo Blvd., then constructing four single-story commercial buildings totaling 29,908 square feet on a merged 1.14-acre site, according to the city's Planning Commission agenda for Thursday, June 11. The complex, known internally as "The Corners," would have included a retail showroom, pedestrian walkway, and a 2,700-square-foot restaurant in a glass conservatory. A sample menu listed a $44 grilled branzino and a $115 wagyu ribeye.

City planning documents estimated the project would bring at least 140 full- and part-time jobs to Walnut Creek. It would have been RH's fifth restaurant-and-retail combination in the Bay Area, joining locations in San Francisco, Palo Alto, Yountville, and Corte Madera.

A short timeline

RH first presented the project to the city in February 2026. The withdrawal came just three months later, one week before the company was scheduled to present to the Planning Commission and begin pulling permits.

"For it to be pulled so quickly without any further explanation was shocking," Mayor Kevin Wilk told the Chronicle. "There was a lot of buildup to it."

Wilk called it the biggest retail project happening in Walnut Creek at the time.

Why it fell apart

RH has publicly cited a challenging year financially, pointing to a weak housing market and tariff-related supply disruptions, the Chronicle reported, though the company had recently revised its financial projections upward. City economic development manager Mike Nimon told the Chronicle that projects of this scale can cost tens of millions of dollars and are subject to interest rates, corporate risk assessments, and global company policies.

The city issued a statement saying it remains committed to supporting RH and is exploring opportunities with future tenants for the site.

What's next

The former Neiman Marcus space has sat empty since 2021. No replacement tenant has been announced. RH still operates a smaller concept store at Broadway Plaza, but the 1.14-acre site at South Main and Mt. Diablo Boulevard remains vacant with no public timeline for redevelopment.