AFTER NEARLY TWO DECADES OF DISPUTE, Concord city officials are moving forward to finalize a plan for the future of the former naval weapons station.
Many residents who live in the city and surrounding areas are familiar with “bunker city,” the nickname given to the base that spans more than 12,000 acres and has been closed since September 2005. The development site sits on a swath of land south of Highway 4, east of Port Chicago Highway.
“The Concord Naval Weapons Station is projected to be a world-class project,” said Colleen Awad, Concord’s public information officer. The redevelopment plan is slated to include 12,272 homes, 6 million square feet of commercial space, and 868 acres of local parks, paths, and bikeways. The estimated cost of the project is at least $2.5 billion.
The U.S. Navy, which still has control of the land, has agreed to sell 2,422 acres to the city for $40 million along with a timeline for the development, Awad said.
The development plan “is not happening all at once,” she said.
Some community members have been worried about disrupting nearby neighborhoods. One group, Save Mount Diablo, said: “None of the large conservation gains won on this project could have happened without the extensive cooperation and collaboration efforts we have engaged in.”
Many members of the community love the base’s natural greenery and fear corporate developers will strip it of its history.
Mayor Laura Nakamura said that will not be the case. The next phase of the development involves deciding on specific details.
Different developer, same mission
The city has brought on a few different master developers to redevelop the base, but those plans failed to materialize. The city of Concord is now working with Brookfield, a multinational investment firm based in Canada.
“The difference with Brookfield, our current master developer, is that they’ve done outreach with the community differently than any other developer we have worked with in the past,” said Nakamura.
On Sept. 30, California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed Senate Bill 328 that will streamline the environmental review for the new development.
“Coming on the heels of the landmark agreement with the U.S. Navy, the legislation keeps this project moving forward to produce thousands of well-paying construction jobs and add many homes to our community,” Nakamura said in a statement.
Part of the Concord Naval Weapons Station has been donated to the East Bay Regional Park District in memory of a tragedy during World War II, when 320 sailors and civilians were killed during an explosion while loading ammunition at the Port Chicago Naval Weapons Magazine, 16 minutes away from the Concord naval base.
The incident resulted in the worst domestic disaster of World War II. Following the explosion, 50 men refused to refill ammunition for the troops and were convicted of various charges. The site now contains a memorial to the people who died and the men who fought for better safety.
Nakamura said it’s important to maintain the historical areas of the base while also making use of land to accommodate new housing in the Bay Area, where new housing is in high demand.
The development process has taken longer than city officials originally thought, but the plan is now moving in the right direction, Awad said.
“It’s an opportunity,” she said, “to continue to grow and improve Concord as a world-class city to work and play.”
Jennifer Alas is an 11th grader at Northgate High School in Walnut Creek and a second-year CCYJ reporter. This story originally appeared in CCSpin.