Publication:  San Francisco Business Times
Date:  July 7, 2014

Nine development teams have applied to develop at least 800 apartments or condominiums and mixed-use space at Alameda Point, the former Navy base on San Francisco Bay. Officials have already begun trimming the list of nine developers.

Four of those teams also are vying to develop one or more commercial projects on an 82-acre parcel on the former base that has been largely vacant since 1997. The commercial project could possibly include a premium retailer that could generate large amounts of sales tax revenue for the city or a corporate build-to-suit project that would add jobs.

The applications are the latest step in island-bound Alameda’s long effort to redevelop the site, which covers about one-third of the island that connects to the rest of the East Bay via three bridges and a tunnel. Previous efforts ran into a buzz-saw of public opposition, some of it driven by fears that additional development would paralyze traffic to and from Alameda.

It also was complicated by a four-decades-old law on the city’s books that bans new multifamily development on the island. SunCal Cos. had proposed building more than 4,000 residential units on Alameda Point and tried to overturn the multifamily ordinance, but failed at the ballot box and dropped the project in 2010.

The city took over development efforts, planning to use a state law loophole that allows a waiver of the city’s development limits for projects with certain levels of affordable housing for low-income residents. It proposed a more modest 1,425 residential units in all, along with light industry, offices, retail and open space.

The city in May issued two requests for qualifications from developers for two parcels at Alameda Point. Nine responded by last month’s deadline, and the Business Times obtained their names:

  • Alameda Point Partners, a venture by Thompson Dorfman Partners, SRM Ernst Development Partners and Madison Marquette
  • Brookfield Homes
  • Catellus, which already has converted the former Alameda Fleet Industrial Supply Center into the Alameda Landing development
  • Mission Bay Development Group
  • Rising Realty Partners with Summit Land Partners
  • Tim Lewis Communities, which is working on 309 apartments near the Alameda waterfront
  • Trumark Cos.
  • Williams & Dame Development with Zelman Development Co. and Langley Investment Properties

Four of those applicants also submitted for the commercial site: Catellus, CIM, Mission Bay and Trumark.

Details of the proposals were not disclosed. Jennifer Ott, Alameda’s chief operating officer for Alameda Point, said staff members have begun reviewing the proposals and winnowing them to a list of finalists.

At least one team with its eyes on the residential site already has been cut from the mix. Tim Lewis Communities was informed that it is not a finalist for Alameda Point, said Jessica Grossman, a project manager in land acquisition with the firm.

Representatives at Catellus, CIM, Brookfield and Rising Realty Partners declined to comment, while those at the other teams did not immediately respond to calls and emails.

Officials expect to disclose some details by September and to recommend one or more development teams to Alameda’s city council by November for detailed negotiations, Ott said.

 Original Article via: San Francisco Business Times