Moraga's Town Council has voted to begin demolishing La Sala, the closed meeting and recreation building at Hacienda de las Flores. That building is the newest part of the estate. La Sala was added in 1977. The Town has held the property since 1977, after Moraga incorporated. So the structure coming down at 2100 Donald Drive is not a piece of the original ranch or the Rheem-era estate. It is the newest layer, added in the same year the estate came to the Town. With it gone, the Hacienda goes back toward the private-estate footprint it was built with, just as the Town begins to work out how much of the site belongs to residents and how much belongs to the weddings that pay for it.
What the Council Actually Decided
An April 2026 assessment found water damage and related environmental conditions in La Sala, based on visual checks, moisture readings, and air and surface sampling. The building has been closed since then. A July 8 staff report from Public Works Director Nate Levine and Parks and Recreation Director Mackenzie Brady called it "a building without a clear long-term purpose, a funded repair plan, or an active capital investment strategy."
The Council had a range of options, and the costs explain the vote. According to Lamorinda Weekly's August 12, 2026 report, these were the scenarios staff presented:
| Option | What it covers | Estimated cost |
|---|---|---|
| Limited repair and reopening | Immediate water damage and remediation only | $50,000 to $100,000 |
| Basic repair and stabilization | Remediation, roof, basic foundation work | $350,000 to $400,000 |
| Enhanced repair and stabilization | Heavier foundation work, secondary damage, utilities | $750,000 to $800,000 |
| Full repair and improvement | All of the above, plus accounting for a nearby creek bank that could keep sliding | Could exceed $1 million |
| Demolition | Removal, hazardous materials, capping utilities, site stabilization | $150,000 to $250,000 |
The cheapest repair would only have reopened the building. Staff wrote that it would not address "longer-term structural and site concerns." The fullest repair would also have had to account for La Sala's location close to a creek bank that could keep sliding over time. Demolition costs less than the basic stabilization option.
The idea is also not new. A 2016 feasibility study by an outside contractor had already recommended removing La Sala and turning the area into a drop-off courtyard and patio. Council Members Lisa Maglio and Graham Thiel and Vice Mayor Brian Dolan voted for demolition. Council Member Steve Woehleke voted against it. Mayor Kerry Hillis recused himself because he lives near the Hacienda.
Timing is still open. Staff is preparing demolition plans, specifications, and bid documents, and Levine put the schedule plainly:
"Assuming things move forward, the goal is to demo the building before the rainy season, but there is coordination with Wedgewood and others, so I cannot say definitively that it will happen."
The August report gave no bid award or start date. Levine also said staff does not expect a significant parking impact while work is underway, so parking will remain available for events. Staff plans to look at salvaging or recycling materials, especially the roofing tiles.
Where La Sala's Programs Went
Losing La Sala has already changed how the Town runs programs on the grounds. Recreation Supervisor Jasmine Bateson told the Council that La Sala's uses have moved to the Casita, a small building on the property, and to the Moraga Library Community Room. Parks and Recreation staff also set up an outdoor classroom in the southeast corner of the Hacienda grounds, using picnic tables under the trees.
One program has not found a new home. La Sala's kitchen was used for culinary classes, and those classes have not moved into the Hacienda's kitchen because it is a catering kitchen. Bateson said that is "something that could be looked into." The catering kitchen's name points to the issue that runs through the whole property. The main house is set up for private events, and the public building was the one that failed.
An Estate Built in Layers
The rest of the Hacienda predates public ownership by decades. The Moraga Historical Society traces it in stages:
- 1916: Alberta Higgins and Gertrude E. Mallette build the original Spanish ranch-style house, designed by Mallette, for a planned orphanage. The orphanage closed after inspectors found no male nurse on site, and the two women went on to raise livestock and crops. Lamorinda Weekly's centennial coverage dates the first building to 1917.
- 1934: Donald and Alice Rheem buy the property and greatly enlarge it. They add a second floor, a stable, a racetrack, a garage, servant quarters, a pool complex, and guest rooms.
- 1938: Architect Clarence Tantau designs the pool cabana now known as the Pavilion. It once held dressing rooms, bedrooms, baths, a bar, a reception room, and a projection room.
- 1973: The Moraga Parks and Recreation Authority buys the estate for $343,750.
- 1977: The newly incorporated Town takes over the site, and La Sala is added.
The creek follows the same history. Rheem dammed it to supply water for the pool, house, and gardens. The dam was later removed so the creek could flow naturally again. The creek bank beside La Sala is part of why the fullest repair option was estimated to possibly exceed $1 million. Seen this way, the demolition removes the most recent addition and leaves the Mallette house, the Rheem expansion, and the Tantau Pavilion as the estate's main buildings.
The Arrangement That Pays for the Grounds
Those older buildings are also what the private venue is built around. Wedgewood Weddings describes the Hacienda as a nine-acre estate with a mansion, a lawn, gardens, the Pavilion, flagstone stairs, a walled garden, a patio, and a fountain. Under a lease that took effect November 1, 2021, Wedgewood holds exclusive management of weddings and events at the Town-owned property. The terms reported in 2021 included a 10-year initial term, two possible five-year extensions, $20,000 a month in base rent, a $253,000 initial capital investment, and a $48,000 annual capital-fund contribution starting in 2024.
Town budget documents call wedding and event lease revenue the Hacienda's primary operating revenue. The proposed FY 2025–26 and 2026–27 budget included $315,000 to replace the Pavilion's flagstone staircase and $391,000 for roof replacement. That is why the La Sala site has to be coordinated with the venue operator. Levine said the near-term idea is "some sort of outdoor/landscaping improvement (decorative in nature)," and that it "will be somewhat dependent on Wedgewood."
The Plan That Comes After the Building
The longer-term decision has been sent to a separate planning process. Draft recommendations for Moraga's parks master plan, presented at a joint Town Council and Parks and Recreation Commission study session on September 9, 2026, describe the Hacienda as both "an important public asset" and a site with significant needs in infrastructure, accessibility, circulation, storage, and operations. Instead of proposing a redevelopment concept, the draft calls for an updated site and facility master plan just for the Hacienda.
The key line is about public and private use. The draft says future planning "should seek to clearly define public and private spaces and provide dependable opportunities for Town programs, meetings, recreation activities, and community events" while also supporting the property's long-term financial sustainability. The same document names indoor recreation space as a community need. It suggests exploring shared use of Saint Mary's College's Joseph L. Alioto Recreation Center and, over the long term, a dedicated multigenerational community center. The study session was not meant to approve projects, choose a site, or commit funding. Until the Hacienda plan exists, the Casita and the picnic tables under the trees are the Town's program space on the grounds, and the Moraga Library Community Room takes the rest.
The Fall Calendar Around It
The Hacienda's best-known public evening this season is Friday, October 30, from 5 to 8:30 p.m., at Hacienda de las Flores and the Casita. The Town's page calls it the Not So Haunted Hacienda, and the 510 Families calendar lists it as Not So Creepy Commons. Listed activities include a free outdoor screening of Disney's Freaky Friday at 6:30 p.m., a costume contest, pumpkin painting, and trunk-or-treat.
After that, the Town's calendar moves down the road to Moraga Commons:
- November 11, 9 to 10 a.m.: Veterans Day Memorial at the Veterans Memorial at Moraga Commons.
- December 3, 6 p.m.: Holiday Tree Lighting at Moraga Commons.
Whether La Sala is still standing on October 30 depends on a demolition schedule that staff, as of the August report, could not yet commit to.
Historic estates that are part private venue and part public space raise the same questions inside a property search: what is protected, what can change, and who decides. If you're weighing a home near Donald Drive or another Moraga landmark and want those questions answered before you commit, Roh Habibi and The Habibi Group can go through them with you. Book a Confidential Real Estate Consultation.
