The front door to the City of Orinda is getting a glow-up.
A new “Welcome to Orinda” sign, new landscaping and beautification upgrades will now greet drivers as they wait at the long light at the eastbound Highway 24 off-ramp.
“It’s been a 10-year problem,” said Mayor Brandyn Iverson, adding that the area has “looked terrible” since PG&E removed the trees behind Theatre Square about 10 years ago.
“That’s the front door to the city…It’s the first thing you see,” said Iverson about the Crossroads Plaza area right behind the Theatre Square Center.
“We are replacing all the landscaping, with a lot of input from the Orinda Garden Club,” said Director of Orinda Public Works, Scott Christie. Though the land is owned by PG&E, due to the overhead power lines, the city has a 25-year lease in place for the key entry point to the city.
The centerpiece of the project is a 20-foot long brown granite “Welcome to Orinda” sign with metallic silver lettering and a concrete base, according to city documents. The new sign replaces an old wood sign that has already been removed.
In addition, “lighted bollards will be added to the sidewalk going through the Plaza, and the redundant sidewalk will be replaced with landscaping,” Christie said.
Iverson praised the beautiful new sign and beautification of this area for increasing the “curb appeal” of the whole city in this key area that has been a bit of an eyesore for years.
The project has been in the city’s Capital Improvement Plan for many years, but one of the challenges of developing the areas has been complying with some of PG&E’s requirements for the land due to the high-voltage electric lines and towers overhead, according to Christie.
For example, there are strict height limits on the trees, and no tables, chairs or benches are allowed in the transitional area. The project is currently under construction and the estimated completion date is late August, according to city officials.
In April 2026, the Orinda City Council awarded a $277,000 contract to Modernscapes Innovations. This funding comes from the city’s Capital Improvement Fund, which is funded with appropriations from the city’s General Fund.
The project also includes removing portions of the existing landscaping and irrigation system and installing a new irrigation system, new exterior electrical conduit and wiring to connect to the existing electrical system and new exterior lighting.
