CONCORD, CA — The long-awaited redevelopment of the former Concord Naval Weapons Station reached a major milestone Tuesday night as the Concord City Council approved agreements tied to a $628 million financial deal with the U.S. Navy over thousands of acres of land.
After two decades of stalled negotiations, shifting developers, and political fights, Concord officials finally have a framework to move forward on the massive redevelopment of the former Concord Naval Weapons Station — a project expected to bring more than 12,000 housing units and reshape a large section of central Contra Costa County.
On Tuesday, the city and Navy reached the next phase of a financial agreement that establishes how about 2,422 acres of the former military base would transfer for redevelopment.
The agreement outlines the core financial and legal structure of the deal before final contracts are drafted. But city officials say the breakthrough gives planners something they have lacked for years: certainty about what the project will cost.
That financial clarity is the key to unlocking the next phase of work, including preparation of a detailed specific plan, environmental review, and future entitlement approvals tied to housing, roads, utilities, parks, and commercial construction.
Groundbreaking, however, remains years away, said Guy Bjerke, the economic development and base reuse director who has been involved in the project for two decades.
Current timelines project land transfers could begin around 2030, with major infrastructure construction — including sewer, water, electrical systems, and roads — following afterward. Housing and commercial construction may not begin until roughly 2033.
A separate agreement with the master developer, Brookfield Properties, governs how the project would ultimately be built. Brookfield is the third master developer attached to the redevelopment effort after earlier development attempts collapsed.
The former Concord Naval Weapons Station operated for decades as a major Navy munitions storage and shipping facility after opening in 1942. The base handled logistics during World War II, the Vietnam War, and the Gulf War before the federal government shut it down in the early 2000s. The site is considered a superfund site and will have to be cleared of toxic materials remaining from the naval base era of use.
The redevelopment plan represents one piece of a broader transformation of 5,000 acres of former military land across California and the Bay Area.
Much of the remaining property at the former base is expected to transfer at no cost to public agencies, including the East Bay Regional Park District and Contra Costa County, for parks, open space, and public facilities.
City officials posted additional information about the project at Concord Reuse Project.
MORE: Concord-Navy Land Deal Moves Closer To Unlocking Massive Plan
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