Million-Dollar Security Deal For Autonomous Cars At Concord Base Approved

Driverless-car testing will continue behind guarded gates while Concord pursues its massive long-delayed redevelopment plans ahead.

By Angela Woodall, Patch Staff

Aug 26, 2026 1:35 PM PDT

Security guards will remain at the former Concord Naval Weapons Station as a $628 million redevelopment deal moves forward after two decades of delays. (City of Concord)

CONCORD, CA — Concord will spend more than $1 million to guard the former Concord Naval Weapons Station for another three years while the city moves ahead with plans to transform thousands of acres of the former military base into more than 12,000 homes.

The City Council voted 4-0 Tuesday to approve a $1.05 million contract with Concord-based Guardian Security Agency for security guard services through June 2029. Councilmember Pablo Benavente was absent from the vote.

Guardian has provided security at the former weapons station for the past decade, staffing entry gates at Willow Pass and Bailey roads. Its existing contract expires Aug. 31.

The council selected Guardian from nine bidders. City staff said Concord has been "satisfied with their exceptional responsiveness and customer service" during the company's decade at the property.

GoMentum Station, which has operated at the former weapons station since 2016, requires the security services.

The Contra Costa Transportation Authority oversees GoMentum, which touts itself as the nation's largest secure facility dedicated to autonomous vehicle testing and works with automakers testing autonomous vehicles.

GoMentum will reimburse Concord for the security services, leaving no impact on the city's General Fund.

The security contract comes three months after the City Council took another step toward redeveloping a property that has remained largely undeveloped for two decades.

On May 26, the council approved agreements tied to a $628 million financial deal with the U.S. Navy involving thousands of acres of the former base.

After two decades of stalled negotiations, changing developers, and political fights, the agreement gives Concord and the Navy a framework for moving forward with a project expected to bring more than 12,000 housing units and reshape a large section of central Contra Costa County.

The city and Navy reached the next phase of the financial agreement May 26, establishing how about 2,422 acres of the former military base would transfer for redevelopment.

The agreement establishes the core financial and legal structure of the deal before final contracts are drafted. City officials have said the agreement provides something planners have lacked for years: certainty about the project's cost.

That financial clarity could unlock the next phase of work, including preparation of a detailed specific plan, environmental review, and future entitlement approvals for housing, roads, utilities, parks, and commercial construction.

Guy Bjerke, Concord's economic development and base reuse director, said in May that groundbreaking remains years away.

The former weapons station initially opened as a munitions storage facility in 1944 and closed in 1999. Concord officially marked the property for redevelopment in 2006, but the 12,800-acre site has remained largely undeveloped.

While redevelopment plans repeatedly stopped and started, GoMentum has used part of the property for autonomous vehicle testing for the past decade.