Goodwill Wins Approval at Creekside Center as Hercules Eyes November Sales Tax Vote

The Hercules City Council spent the bulk of its July 28 meeting debating whether a Goodwill superstore belongs in one of the city's few remaining commercial spaces — and ultimately said yes, over the objections of residents who wanted higher-yield tenants. In a separate pivotal move, the council placed a 1% sales tax measure on the November 2026 ballot, confronting head-on a city that gets just 5.5 cents of every property tax dollar and still hasn't rebuilt from Great Recession-era layoffs.

• Goodwill wins conditional use permit for a 31,600-square-foot retail store with drive-up donations at the former Big Lots in Creekside Shopping Center; council adds a six-month operational check-in

• 1% sales tax headed to November ballot after a community survey showed 68% support; urgency ordinance clears the required four-fifths vote

• 232-unit Dillon apartments sold to Interstate Equities Corporation, preserving 15 affordable units and Bayfront development covenants

• Caltrans plans 53-hour closure of westbound I-80 across the Al Zampa Memorial Bridge Aug. 21–24 for deck resurfacing

• Consent calendar approved unanimously with no items pulled

Hercules doesn't have much retail space to spare. So when the Planning Commission approved permits for Goodwill of San Francisco Bay to move into the 31,631-square-foot former Big Lots at 1551 Sycamore Ave. in Creekside Shopping Center, Mayor Christine Kelley called it up for a full council hearing — citing community fears about illegal dumping rooted in the shuttered Goodwill location in nearby Rodeo.