"What you will see us focus on is putting, what I want to say is, Humpty Dumpty back together." That's how Deke Hunter Jr., president of Hunter Properties, described his plans for Sequoia Station to the Redwood City Council in early 2024, as Redwood City Pulse reported. Nearly three years later, the lease map at the center next to the Caltrain station shows he meant it. The newcomers are also a different kind of business from the ones that left. Kura Revolving Sushi is taking the corner Old Navy space, a party supply store is taking the old Barnes & Noble, and a dialysis clinic has leased the old Pier 1 building. Sequoia Station is turning into a place you go for a meal or an errand rather than a place to browse.
The Plan That Was Shelved
The previous owner, Lowe Enterprises, planned to divide the property into six new blocks. The plan called for more than 800 housing units, 1.2 million square feet of office space, 166,000 square feet of retail and nearly 90,000 square feet of public open space. Under that plan, the shopping center was a placeholder.
Hunter Properties bought 6.65 acres of the 12-acre center in December 2023 for $53 million. Its portion includes 25 commercial spaces and 326 parking stalls. Safeway owns the adjoining 5.43-acre parcel. At the time, Hunter Jr. called the old plans aggressive. He said his company would spend the next five to seven years developing its own redevelopment plan in line with the city's transit-oriented vision, and would focus on the shopping center in the meantime.
Redevelopment hasn't been formally abandoned. In January, a Redwood City Pulse opinion blog called the Sequoia Station project "dead now," but that's commentary, not a City decision. The City's separate Greater Downtown Area Plan is aiming for 2028. Under the redesigned draft that Redwood City Pulse described in January, the area around the Caltrain station would be designated a "transit district" allowing a mix of housing, retail, dining and entertainment. In practice, the bulldozers are years away, and the owner is leasing as if the buildings will be around for a while.
Building by Building, as of Late October
The clearest picture comes from Walking Redwood City, a local blog. On October 24 it walked through the leasing brochure from The Econic Company, the firm handling leasing at the center. The brochure marks every storefront as leased, in negotiation or open.
| Building | Former tenant or space | What's happening now |
|---|---|---|
| Jefferson Avenue building, El Camino corner | End of the former Old Navy | Kura Revolving Sushi, opening planned for spring 2027 |
| Jefferson Avenue building, middle | Next to Habit Burger & Grill | Sweetgreen, fit-out underway |
| Jefferson Avenue building, adjacent spaces | Two vacant storefronts | Letter-of-intent negotiations |
| Standalone building across the driveway | Former Pier 1 Imports | Leased to DaVita, not yet fitted out |
| 1091 El Camino Real | Former Barnes & Noble | Leased to ROC Party |
| James Avenue strip | Space between Teatime and Jamba Juice | Only vacancy in the strip, with someone in lease talks |
| CVS building | Four empty spaces | One in lease negotiations, one in letter-of-intent talks |
A letter of intent is the step before a lease is negotiated. If the two Jefferson Avenue prospects sign, that whole building, from El Camino Real to the driveway, will be full. The CVS building has the most empty space left. Hunter's repainting of the buildings, reported by the same blog in early 2025, was the first visible sign of the "spruce up" pledge. The leases are the bigger one.
The Corner Kura Chose
Kura's spot is the clearest example of the shift. It's taking the end of the former Old Navy space closest to El Camino Real and Jefferson Avenue. That gives it El Camino frontage and puts its entrance on the small patio at that corner of the center.
Redwood City Pulse's report on the opening says the restaurant at 1101 El Camino Real, Space F1D, will have more than 4,000 square feet and 123 seats. That's about 50% larger than Kura's Stonestown and Cupertino locations. Robert Kluger, the chain's chief development officer, told the Pulse that Redwood City was picked because it sits between those two locations.
The format is new to this stretch of the Peninsula. Plates ride a conveyor belt, special orders arrive on a separate express belt, and a delivery robot called Kur-B brings drinks and condiments. Your bill is based on the number of plates. Plates go into a disposal slot, and the Bikkura Pon machine dispenses a prize after 15 plates, again after 25, and every 15 plates after that. The Pulse reports that the California roll uses snow crab, not imitation crab, and that Redwood City plate prices haven't been set. Today the nearest revolving sushi is Izumi Revolving Sushi at Serramonte Center in Daly City and Kura's own Cupertino location. Sumo Sushi Boat in Los Altos took its boats out during the pandemic.
Combined with Sweetgreen's fit-out next to Habit Burger & Grill, the Jefferson Avenue building is becoming a row of restaurants facing El Camino. Sweetgreen's location page lists the address as 1109 El Camino Real.
What the Re-Leasing Cost
The Barnes & Noble closure belongs to the same story. As Redwood City Pulse reported in July, the owner of 1091 El Camino Real asked the bookstore to leave by September 16, ending a 33-year run. Assistant manager Val de Leon said staff had believed the lease ran until January 2027. She told the Pulse that Sequoia High School students used the store as a "third space" after school, and that its spot next to the Caltrain station drew commuters.
The staff said they wanted to stay in Redwood City. De Leon named the former Rite Aid at 340 Woodside Plaza as an ideal new home and said any space of at least 5,000 square feet could work. No new Redwood City location has been announced. The nearest downtown bookstore is Fireside Books and More at 2421 Broadway, which opened on February 1, 2025.
Here's how the three big spaces have changed:
- Former Old Navy. A 123-seat sushi restaurant will fill the El Camino corner.
- Former Pier 1 Imports. DaVita, a kidney care and dialysis provider, has leased the standalone building.
- Former Barnes & Noble. ROC Party, a party supply store, takes over the bookstore's floor.
All three are destination businesses: a restaurant you plan dinner around, a clinic with scheduled visits, and a store for a specific party. Combined with Safeway, CVS and Mathnasium, which already run on routines, the center is shifting toward trips with a purpose and away from browsing between trains.
The Anchors Staying Put
The core of the center is unchanged. The official store pages still list Safeway at 1071 El Camino Real, CVS at 1039 El Camino Real, See's Candies at 1027 El Camino Real and Mathnasium at 1073 El Camino Real, Suite 100. The James Avenue strip, which runs from El Camino Real to the driveway by See's, has just one open storefront. The errands people already run here aren't moving.
The new arrivals are coming in stages. Sweetgreen is already being fitted out. DaVita's space hasn't been built out yet, and Walking Redwood City expects it to open in a couple of months at the earliest. Kura is planned for spring 2027. No opening date has been announced for ROC Party. For the next several months, the corner by the Caltrain station will have construction fences and new signs at the same time.
The center is also getting new neighbors along El Camino. In October, construction began at ELCO Yards on two seven-story apartment buildings with 501 units total. The building at 1555 El Camino Real will have 252 apartments and 5,277 square feet of ground-floor retail on El Camino. The one at 113 Beech Street will have 249. SF YIMBY covered the groundbreaking.
If you own near Sequoia Station or downtown Redwood City and want an estimate that accounts for the leasing changes at Sequoia Station and the new construction along El Camino, Real Smart Group can help. Get your free home valuation.
