By Tony Hicks –
The Concord City Council will once again consider how to go about selecting a master developer for the former Concord Naval Weapons Station at its meeting Tuesday.
The council will consider staff’s proposed draft request for qualifications (RFQ) from potential developers and likely formally authorize release of the RFQ, pending any changes the council may make.
The council voted 3-2 in January to reject the city’s term sheet with Seeno Homes-owned Concord First Partners (CFP) to develop one of the largest redevelopment projects in Bay Area history.
It was the city’s second failed attempt to come to a final agreement with a chosen master developer for the site. The city’s deal with Lennar Five Point collapsed in March 2020 when it couldn’t come to agreements with local labor unions, which was one of the city’s conditions.
The city’s exclusive negotiating agreement with Seeno expired Jan. 31.
Development of the 5,046-acre site on the city’s northeast side has been the city’s biggest issue since the Navy abandoned it in 1999. The Navy officially designated it as surplus and made Concord the area’s local reuse authority, of which 2,300 acres are targeted for 13,000 units of housing and millions of square feet of commercial space.
The site will also be home to a new 2,540-acre East Bay Regional Park, named Thurgood Marshall Regional Park – Home of the Port Chicago 50, commemorating the nearby Port Chicago tragedy during World War II.
The city abandoned its agreement with Seeno after being widely criticized by the community. Among the points of contention between the city and the developer were CFP’s requests to amend the agreement to give them early property rights and reimbursement of costs should the deal fall through.
The Concord City Council meets at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday at the city council chambers at city hall, 1950 Parkside Drive, in Concord. The meeting can be seen virtually at https://bit.ly/3VITKhy.
19 comments
That toxic place is disgusting. No one should build anything there.
Leave it alone, no one deserves it.
We should build a vagrant penal colony on that land: We could establish a minimum security labor camp to house those caught within Contra Costa sleeping rough or otherwise in violation of California Penal Code sections 647(c), (e), (f) or (h), any municipal code provision that bars lodging or trespassing upon public property, soliciting or begging for alms, or Heath and Safety Code provision against creating an unsanitary condition.
Each inmate would be provided with three daily MREs, a standard issue US Army infantry tent and one weekly USAF ACES II Ejection Seat survival kit (excluding the life raft, flares, GPS, knife / multi-tool, signal mirror, whistle and saw). If it’s good enough for our sons and daughters who volunteer to go in harm’s way for us, it’s good enough for vagrants who violate the social contract and sully our neighborhoods with their squalor.
Those who agree to cooperate with psychiatric treatment and exhibit consistent med compliance would have the option to earn money on public works projects, which would be held in a custodial account and available to procure an apartment upon completion of their sentence.
Amen brother!!!! Praise the lord and pass the ammo!!!
Concord74 – Why such resentment against wealthy Italian-Americans?
So the selection of a master developer has failed twice. Maybe look at another approach. I think it’s too big and the risk is too high for a developer, thus the last attempt was dropped as the developer wanted early rights and to put the city on the hook for any risk. What if the city creates an overall plan for the entire site, then break it down and put sections of that plan out to bid for developers. Or some other approach.
WC—CREEKER,
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The Concord City Council has repeatedly said the Navy wants a Master Developer.
I don’t see how with our inflated house prices all these developers are claiming they “can’t “ make any money unless all their demands are met
Historically, housing developments on the north side of highway 4 have sold out very slowly. Developers are interested in Internal Rate of Return.
This is likely why there’s been limited interest in this property. Further, the doubling of interest rates makes the potential home buyer pool a lot smaller. And investors won’t buy those homes as Cap Rates won’t be sufficient.
THE FEARLESS SPECTATOR,
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The development of the former CNWS property doesn’t call for any housing to be built north of SR4. All housing would be built south of SR4.
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Any master developer even remotely connected to Seeno/Discovery Builders should be immediately disqualified.
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They’re scum.
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#1A
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Exit 12A – Do you object to the Seeno family’s involvement because they’re Italian, or do you just resent and envy their wealth?
Who is kidding who. Seeno will pay his way in somehow..
PLEASE, PLEASE do not provide any agreements for Seeno!!! He also has MANY off-shoots (like Discovery Builders, North State, etc.) so please investigate the family tree before allowing any review/approval for the Seeno group!!
Concord74 – Why such resentment against wealthy Italian-Americans?
An evening with Wildman Fischer.
With today’s roads the land should remain as it is. If they build more houses and apartments on the site there is going to be gridlock. I have commuted in this area since 1979 and when I go out on the roads now I can see how much worse the traffic is. If they build a new community it will be hell. Don’t put the cart in front of the horse.
RICARDOH,
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We’ve gotten different answers regarding traffic and parking problems from the development of the former CNWS property from different current and former councilmembers.
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Many current and past councilmembers have said “We know traffic and parking will be a problem and you’re just going to have to deal with it.”
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Quite a few current and past councilmembers have said we won’t need to worry about traffic and parking problems because the residents that’ll be living on the former CNWS won’t own or drive cars, they’ll instead be traveling by walking, biking, busing, and BARTing. Those residents will also have everything they’ll need on the CNWS property, so they won’t be leaving the property to cause further traffic and parking problems.
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Vice Mayor Edi Birsan is fond of saying we won’t have to worry about traffic and parking problems because self-driving cars and smart traffic lights are the solutions to those problems.
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Mayor Laura Hoffmeister is fond of saying we won’t have to worry about traffic and parking problems because we’ll be traveling by drones flying us from place to place.
There is no one on the City Council qualified to make appropriate decisions and manage such a development program.
The City Council has failed twice.
How much money has been lost to the taxpayers of Concord for the ineptness of its City Council?
The CIty would do the good citizens of Concord a favor by selling the property and using the money to fix the city streets.
A City that can’t fix its own streets has no business attempting to run a land development of any kind.
It should be kept open space and treat it much like a state park.
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