Navy Receives Additional $10 Million in Clean-Up Funds for Alameda Point

From a City of Alameda press release:

The Department of the Navy (Navy) will receive an additional $10 million in federal funds for clean-up of the former Naval Air Station Alameda (Alameda Point). This increase puts the total budget at approximately $22 million for Alameda Point, an 80 percent increase.  To date the Navy has spent over half a billion dollars on clean-up at Alameda Point and anticipates spending millions more to meet its clean-up goals.   

“This is great news. More money means that the Navy will clean-up and transfer all phases of the Alameda Point property to the City faster,” said City Manager John Russo. “The City, in turn, will be able to achieve its economic development goals faster.”

“We appreciate the time and effort that the Navy has spent, and will continue to spend, restoring the environmental condition of Alameda Point,” said Mayor Marie Gilmore. “The sooner this happens the sooner we can better integrate the former base into the fabric of our City and create the mixed-use community with new jobs, homes, and parks that the community has envisioned for Alameda Point.”   

The House of Representatives Continuing Resolution for 2013 included the $10 million “plus-up” for Alameda Point, as well as for a number of the local communities who experienced Base Realignment and Closure Act (BRAC) closures during the 1990s, including Treasure Island and Hunters Point Shipyard.  While the “plus-up” will increase the Alameda Point clean-up budget by $10 million, it is still uncertain what impacts the federal budget sequestration will have on the Navy’s budget over the upcoming year.

The City expects the next major phase of conveyance of Alameda Point, consisting of 511 acres of land and 870 acres of submerged property, to occur within the next several months.  In 2012, the City initiated a number of planning efforts to facilitate the near-term development of the property, including a zoning amendment, a master infrastructure plan, and Environmental Impact Report for the whole base and a specific plan for the town center and waterfront areas.