Even though the City Council is under a Federal Court judgment to “maintain and secure” Point Molate (including Winehaven), it has done neither. The move to provide some minimal protection during the coming rainy season would not have happened without the lawsuit brought by the Winehaven Trust. Hopefully, the work will actually get done before more damage occurs.

It is ironic that several City Council members cited the International Hotel as an example of preservation needs higher than those of Winehaven. The International Hotel burned down in April of 2023, possibly because neither the City nor the City Council had taken any interest in it for years.

Apparently, Mayor Martinez had not heard the International Hotel burned down several month ago. Speaking of it in the present tense, he is quoted:
“I want to agree with the last three council members who have spoken especially about the Pullman Hotel, which has a lot more historical significance than Winehaven. It is in the center of the Pullman District. I think it is criminal to not put the Pullman Hotel before any other historically significant edifice in the City of Richmond,” Martinez said.

Unfortunately, the RPA-controlled City Council has shown little interest in historic preservation, which has been an economic boon and attracted many visitors to Richmond over the years before they took over, delivering projects such as the Ford Assembly Building, the Richmond Plunge, the Mechanics Bank in Point Richmond, the Riggers Loft, the Maritime Child Care Center, the Hotel Mac, the Hotel Carquinez, East Brother Light Station, and many others.

Along with Winehaven, other historic properties that are the responsibility (and opportunities for) of the City of Richmond, such as the General Warehouse and Cafeteria at historic Shipyard 3 continue to deteriorate.

A reluctant city council votes to preserve historic Winehaven buildings

Butt said the city is responsible for maintaining the buildings in the Winehaven Historic District. He said he filed the lawsuit to force Richmond to honor a provision in the federal court settlement agreement about Point Molate.

“Ever since, the city attorney and other people have been trying to find some way to avoid liability under my lawsuit. This is their latest effort. They are looking for a minor amount of money and permission from the city council to make some minor repairs,” he said.

Richmond hired Wiss, Janney, and Elstner Associates to provide architectural and structural consulting services for the evaluation and stabilization of the buildings at Point Molate and the Cafeteria building from WWII Richmond Shipyard No. 3.

WJE concluded there would be that significant cost involved, said Richmond City Attorney Dave Aleshire at the meeting. WJE estimated that repairing the cottage roofs would cost over $1.8 million. At the time, the city did not have the funding to complete the restoration project.


A city consultant estimated that repairing the cottage roofs would cost over $1.8 million.

“We worked with WJE to see if there is another plan to deal with the preservation of the cottages over the course of the rainy season,” Aleshire said.

WJE found that the structures at Winehaven are generally in a state of disrepair and have sustained damage in many places, allowing water and animals to enter and further deteriorate the historic buildings.

Aleshire recommended a plan to repair cottage roofs with moderate damage to reduce or eliminate the need to tarp, while other more damaged roofs would be tarped to prevent damage during the winter months.

Aleshire said money should be spent on preservation, not litigation, and said should the council decide not to move forward, the Winehaven Trust would likely proceed with the litigation.

“I have made it clear to them that we are moving as fast as we can to get this work done. That it is our preference to spend money on actually correcting the structures instead of spending money on the courts,” he said. “I believe if we continue on the path we’ve been on and take action tonight, we can get something in place that the litigation will be on hold.”

Daniel Butt, who represents the Winehaven Trust, said if the city can properly mitigate and prevent further damages from the El Nino rains this winter, Winehaven Trust will agree to hold off filing for an injunction and will start discussing longer-term plans.  

"We have been in regular contact with the city attorney’s office and have granted the city several extensions to file a response, each based on performance metrics moving this forward – which is to say the city has performed, but just barely," Butt said. "We were about to put this in front of the judge this week if the city did not act last night.  The next step is whether they will actually do the work that has now been funded."

The city has not invested a large amount of money in the Point Molate property in the past because it anticipated that development would take place in the area and would restore the property. This would have meant that the city would not have to invest in the property itself.

“Although there was a development agreement that was approved, the city ultimately determined that the Winehaven entity did not meet the requirements of the agreement in terms of the conditions that were necessary to purchase the property. The purchase did not go through,” Aleshire said.

Councilmember Cesar Zepeda said it was unfortunate the city is being sued and is being told what to do instead of being able to prioritize the needs of the community. Zepeda also questioned why the council was not preserving the privately owned International Hotel, which was destroyed in a massive fire this year.

Pullman neighborhood’s historic International Hotel now hosts old mattresses, garbage

One of Richmond’s important historical resources, destroyed in a massive fire earlier in the year, has become a dumping ground for old mattresses and assorted garbage. The Pullman Neighborhood’s International Hotel burned down last April in a fire intense enough to quickly reduce the structure to a…

Grandview Independent Linda Hemmila



“There has been a community leader of ours who has advocated for a hotel to be preserved. It just happens to be an African-American hotel. We are not talking about funding for that particular place that we should be preserving as well. It holds just as much history in our city, if not more than these particular buildings,” Zepeda said.

The council member suggested the council could use the money to pave roads, hire more staff, install new lighting and accessible sidewalks, or build new housing.

“From what I’m gathering, we have no other options. The city is being stronghold here. We are going to get sued if we don’t put this money toward this project,” Zepeda said.

Councilmember Doria Robinson said it is important for community members to understand why the council voted to protect Winehaven cottages.

“This is not necessarily the priority of the council, but we are in a particular position due to the lawsuit,” Robinson said.
Mayor Eduardo Martinez agreed with the council members who spoke about the significance of the International Hotel.
City staff believed work on the cottages could begin within the next month.

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