Concord pushes Coast Guard plan back to staff for analysis
CONCORD, CA (Jan. 27, 2025) — After Councilmember Laura Hoffmeister said she was “miffed” that the developers were trying to “ramrod something down my throat,” the City Council voted unanimously on Jan. 14 to continue a proposal to develop the 59-acre former Coast Guard site.
At issue was applicants Eddie Haddad and George Maalouf’s last-minute change to the plan for Victory Village and Quinault Village – essentially splitting the so-called Concord Crossing project into two parts.
After hearing the developer’s brief oral proposal and facing numerous questions from councilmembers and residents, Mayor Carlyn Obringer wanted to stop the discussion “because it seemed like the analysis of this new plan was going on in real time.”
The mayor added: “I’m disappointed that staff and the council did not have the new information to evaluate. The presentation by the applicant honestly left me with more questions than answers.”
“I kind of feel that we got side-swiped here,” Hoffmeister said. “I don’t have any written information on how these plans compare. What are the pros and cons?”
Redevelopment
The project includes the 33-acre Quinault Village and the 26-acre Victory Village along East Olivera Road. In 2007, the Army transferred the property to the Coast Guard, which used it for housing until 2014. Early redevelopment planning occurred between 2017 and 2020.
Although Haddad and Maalouf have not submitted a formal application, they now list refurbishment of the 206, two-story multiplex units in Victory Village as the first phase.
“The existing Victory Village buildings were designed in 1989 and have largely gone unmodified,” said Erik Swendseid, an architect with EV&A. “We’d like to give those a contemporary refresh, and we think that with site cleanup, landscaping and that interior/exterior refresh, these could turn into some very nice units for the city.”
Then, the developers would demolish the 40 duplexes in Quinault Village and construct 358 ownership townhomes and a four-story, 150-unit apartment building that they say could be 100% affordable housing.
With questions swirling about traffic mitigation, local labor contracts, affordable housing and community benefits, the revised plan now goes to city staff for analysis. Another council study session is slated for March 4.
If a formal application is submitted, the project would require a General Plan amendment, rezoning and a Development Agreement.
Read more stories by Bev Britton.
Bev Britton
Bev Britton graduated with a degree in journalism from the University of North Dakota and moved to the Bay Area with her soon-to-be husband Jim in 1986. She was features editor at the Contra Costa Times in Walnut Creek before becoming managing editor of the Contra Costa Sun in Lafayette in 1995. She retired from newsrooms in 2001, but an ad for the Clayton Pioneer drew her back in. The family moved to Lake Wildwood in the Gold Country a few years ago - but working at the Pioneer keeps her in touch with her old neighborhoods in Concord and Clayton.