Economic Development Task Force Update

The March 26th Economic Development Task Force meeting featured guest speaker Matt Lewis, Executive Director of Visit Richmond CA. Mr. Lewis has served as the Executive Director since 2017 and is tasked with sharing and highlighting Richmond locally and abroad. His presentation focused on the economic impact of the new Richmond ferry service, which has surpassed ridership expectation and is considering adding weekend service, and strategies to increase growth and tourism in Richmond.

Mr. Lewis also brought materials from LBG, the real estate group involved in The Shops at Hilltop, a redevelopment of the property that was formally Hilltop Mall (for more information about this project click here). The Shops at Hilltop are aiming to create an Asian-centric shopping and entertainment destination. Mr. Lewis shared that this aligns with some of Visit Richmond’s tourism strategies, which have concentrated on increasing Chinese tourism.