The Port of Oakland is asking for requests for qualifications from developers who are interested in taking on the old Howard Terminal property. 

In a media release Friday, port officials announced the latest attempt to get the potentially lucrative waterfront property built out into something other than an underused former maritime dock and port terminal that ceased full-time operations in 2013.  

The 50-acre site is sandwiched between functioning industrial properties and Jack London Square, one of Oakland’s best known entertainment and dining corridors. 

“The Port will consider a wide range of submissions, including maritime, light industrial, commercial, recreational, and/or water-oriented uses,” port officials said Friday. 

The last effort to make something happen at the site, which port officials now call the “Howard Property,” ended in 2023 when the Oakland A’s baseball team abandoned plans to turn it into a new ballpark. 

“Currently, Howard Property is subject to mostly short-term property rental agreements to accommodate container parking, depot operations, and other ancillary maritime services,” according to port officials. 

Responses are due on Dec. 9.

Kiley Russell writes primarily for Local News Matters on issues related to equity and the environment. A Bay Area native, he has lived most of his life in Oakland. He studied journalism at San Francisco State University, worked for the Associated Press and the former Contra Costa Times, among other outlets. He has covered everything from state legislatures, local governments, federal and state courts, crime, growth and development, political campaigns of various stripes, wildfires and the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.