Concord to interview weapons station developers on Aug. 21

CONCORD, CA — This month, the city will take a major step forward with the redevelopment of the former Concord Naval Weapons Station.

At a special meeting on Saturday, Aug. 21, the City Council is scheduled to interview, and possibly select, a new Master Developer for the project.

The chosen Master Developer will work with the City/Local Reuse Authority on the details of a Specific Plan to guide how infrastructure (sewers, water, roads), housing, commercial space, parks and community facilities are built on the base over the next 30 years.

I would like to thank the many members of the Concord community who have contributed to this planning process over the past 10 years. We have convened hundreds of meetings and explored many concepts in order to create a community vision for a project that we can all be proud of as we look to the future.

Beginnings

This new selection process began last April, when the city issued a Request for Qualifications outlining the city’s priorities for the project and how developer teams could demonstrate their abilities to the community. On June 18, three developer teams provided their Statement of Qualifications. The teams vying for this project are Brookfield Properties, City Ventures, and Discovery/Seeno Companies/Lewis Group of Companies/California Capital & Investment Group.

Each of the developer teams has provided information about how they are qualified to carry out the project, and they answered questions about their vision in making the project a reality.

The criteria the City Council intends to use in selecting the Master Developer include:

• Demonstrated understanding of city priorities as expressed in our adopted Concord Reuse Project (CRP) Area Plan, including community benefits and a commitment to Concord First labor principles.
• Financial capabilities and capacity to finance up-front infrastructure.
• Experience of the Master Developer team.
• Organization of their project team, including technical consultants (engineers, architects, etc.).
• Responses from references.

The interview and selection meeting is being held remotely on Zoom – like most City Council meetings during the pandemic. It will begin at 9 a.m., and public comment will be taken in the afternoon, after all the developer teams have made their presentations and answered the council’s questions.

Once a Master Developer is selected, the city will finalize an Exclusive Negotiating Agreement and related Term Sheet outlining the partnership for later consideration by the City Council.

August 12 meeting

The Master Developer selection information is available in the council agenda packet for the Aug. 21 meeting at cityofconcord.org.

If you would like to provide comments about the Master Developer selection, I encourage you to log on and participate in the Aug. 21 meeting. If you would like to submit comments in writing prior to the meeting, email CityCouncil2@cityofconcord.org.

I would like to thank the community for your input in the process, and I look forward to creating a world-class project here in Concord.

Mayor Tim McGallian can be reached at 925.671.2489 or email Tim.McGallian@cityofconcord.org

Related story: Concord to ­select CNWS master ­developer