Not much has been heard recently regarding the redevelopment of the Concord Naval Weapons Station. So, I reached out to the one in charge, Josh Roden, President of Land & Housing Development at Brookfield Properties to find out where things currently stand.
Roden agrees that the general public in Concord doesn’t really know what is happening with the Naval Weapons Station.
“What surprises us, we send out mailers and emails, and there’s announcements from city hall, but they only go to people who have signed up to receive information. We would like to see the press provide more current and frequent coverage, understanding that historically there has not been a great deal of positive news. The people of Concord should be excited about what is happening now, and for the future development of their city,” says Roden.
In similar projects across the United States, Brookfield conducts input sessions from the general public to garner ideas from each community as to what they envision for a development.
“We believe that with more input we can obtain, the better the planning and the better the project will be.” Roden would like to see more attendance from the general public at the input sessions. With that, soon they can start developing specific plans and exhibits.
Make no mistake, the project has had years of community input already that has led to the eventual dismissing of two previous master developers. Much of that input needs to be updated at this point to the current lifestyle trends, especially regarding technology advancements.
“Some of it was collected before we had iPhones, before vehicle charging stations were even thought of. Technology is constantly changing. There are autonomous vehicles in San Francisco and LA. Will they play a role in this project? Drones did not exist when the first community sessions were held. And we have to consider all of those things.”
Roden recognizes that community needs change over time. For example, the proposed library and civic center are already in the Term Sheet, but what will it look like when the time comes to develop plans?
Brookfield’s implementation is contingent on many things. The Navy still owns the land and there are areas that need to be cleaned up, approval given and a price negotiated. Some land has already been transferred.
In 2019, the Regional Park portion of the property, roughly 2,400 acres was donated to the East Bay Regional Park system to form the new Thurgood Marshall Park.
“We are working towards receiving the first 1,000 acres. This will be the first phase of real estate development.” Most of the public is not aware that we are only four or five years out, not 10, 20 or 30. “I think that there is a feeling in the community that it will not happen in their lifetime.” That’s understandable given the history of the re-use process in Concord.
Regardless, it is a slow process working with the federal government. Roden says they are currently in negotiations to purchase the land from the Navy. “We made the Navy an offer back in late spring of last year, but it had holes and placeholders in it because we needed to do more analysis of the property. We wrapped that up in the fall and then resubmitted with an updated offer.”
The negotiations will include some cash, but it is far more complex than that. The Navy currently maintains the property, which they do not want to continue doing. That could be negotiated for a price, as well as other contingencies that would offset actual cash.
In the meantime, over the next four years Brookfield will continue to engage with the community via open houses, focus workshops on components such as affordable housing, open space, sports fields and how to promote current businesses and attract new ones. “The big item will be developing the specifics for the site plan. What will the actual housing look like architecturally? That is exciting.”
Traffic on Highway 4 will be affected but it is not part of Brookfield’s scope of work. At its peak, there will be 30,000 people in the new suburb, that’s a new city the size of Pleasant Hill. It will be up to Caltrans and in some respects those responsible for the I-680 interchange.
Brookfield plans to continue its community outreach on the Concord Naval Weapons Station Project in late spring/summer (no specific dates yet) and suggested that readers go to the project website (https://concordbpproject.com/), click on Connect With Us and scroll down to Subscribe to Receive Project Updates.
Michael Barrington, an international author, lives in Concord and has written eleven books. Take a Priest Like You is his recent memoir. He has published more than 60 short stories www.mbwriter.net.