Frequently Asked Questions

Frequently Asked Questions

The Navy and the US Fish & Wildlife Service reached an impasse in 2004 during negotiations for 549 acres of the runway area to become the Alameda National Wildlife Refuge. The refuge area has been transferred to the US Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). An additional 74 acres of adjacent land on the Northwest Territories was given to the VA by the City of Alameda so the VA could construct its medical clinic and columbarium.

The VA will preserve 511 acres as open space for the protection of the endangered California Least Terns and other wildlife. The VA will also construct a Conservation Management Office that will include a public meeting room for conservation volunteers and educational functions. The VA currently contracts with the US Fish & Wildlife Service to manage the least tern colony that nests on 10 acres.

On March 19, 2013, the Alameda City Council adopted a resolution affirming its continued support for wildlife conservation on the area formerly planned for a wildlife refuge, and for zoning it “Nature Reserve."

Current funding for the Nature Reserve is limited to the work of the Fish & Wildlife Service in managing the least terns. No funding currently exists for landscape enhancements, nature trails, educational and interpretive programs, climate change adaptation or a Bay Trail extension around the perimeter.

The City of Alameda is currently in talks with the East Bay Regional Park District to create a regional park on the city property known as the Northwest Territories. The proposed regional park is located in the area where the monthly Antiques Faire is held.

Photos, videos, and stories can be seen on the Alameda Point Environmental Report: https://alamedapointenviro.com/

The city launched its current planning effort in February 2013. The planning effort included the preparation and adoption of the following:

These documents were completed and approved in February of 2014. Subsequently, the city approved the Alameda Point Waterfront and Town Center Specific Plan for the area around the Seaplane Lagoon.

The city is selling some property parcel by parcel and others in blocks. The project for 800 housing units at Site A (part of the Waterfront Town Center) is partially completed.

The Naval Air Station-Alameda Community Reuse Plan was adopted in 1996 as a guiding document for the conversion of the Navy base to civilian use. It is the guiding document for the No-cost Economic Development Conveyance of land from the Navy to Alameda that began in 2014.

The objectives outlined in the Community Reuse Plan are:
• Seamlessly integrate Alameda Point with the rest of the city
• Foster a vibrant new neighborhood
• Maximize waterfront accessibility
• De-emphasize the automobile and make new development compatible with transportation capacity
• Ensure economic development
• Create a mixed-use environment
• Establish neighborhood centers

See http://issuu.com/alamedapointinfo/docs/1996_community_reuse_plan

Cleanup is being completed in phases. Most of Alameda Point has already been transferred to the City of Alameda and the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. The projected date for completion of all cleanup by the Navy is 2022. The Navy will be responsible for ongoing monitoring of groundwater to ensure that the cleanup goals have remained effective.

The "Finding of Suitability to Transfer" document spells out how the cleanup effort meets all of the federal and state guidelines for the residential and commercial uses that were agreed upon between the city and Navy in 2006. See attachments.

A new bridge is not feasible due to the height required by the Port of Oakland. A drawbridge is unlikely, as it would interfere with the rapid response requirement of the Coast Guard ships located at Coast Guard Island.

We are not aware of any feasibility studies ever performed on the construction of an additional tunnel to Oakland. However, the 1998 “Draft Report – Alameda Point Financing Plan" assumes that no new bridge or tunnel will be built due to the report's educated guess that either crossing would cost between $300 and $700 million (in 1998 dollars).

"New bridge or tunnel to be determined" - 1996 map

Aircraft Carrier Hornet Foundation
Alameda Development Corporation
Alameda Municipal Power
Alameda Naval Air Museum
Alameda Point Collaborative
Alameda Point Storage, Inc.
Alameda Soccer Club
Allied Foods Corporation
American Bus LLC dba Coach Specialties
American Red Cross
Auctions by the Bay / Antiques by the Bay
Architectural Glass & Aluminum
BAE Systems
B&B Environmental Safety
Bay Ship & Yacht Co.
Beyond Productions
Bladium, Inc.
Building 43 & Associates (aka: West Coast Seaworks)
Chabot Space & Science Center
City of Alameda
Community Bible Church
Conmar, Inc.
Container Storage, Inc. (aka CSI Ministorage)
Delphi Productions
Dreyfuss Capital Partners
Edge Innovations
Event Productions
EmergentViews, Inc.
Friends of Alameda Theater
General Services Administration
GFC Moving and Storage
GRM Systems LLC
HESCO, Inc.
InTouch Biosolutions
JETSMART / Alameda Aerospace
Jim Bustos Plumbing
JK Communications
MARAD
MARAD Piers
Mariusz Lewandowski dba Woodmasters
Mason Dutra
Navigator Systems
New Cingular Wireless
Nextel Communications
NRC Environmental Services
Pacific Fine Foods
Pacific Pinball Museum
Piedmont Soccer Club
Point Source Power
Porsche Club of America
Power Engineering
Puglia Engineering
Renovare International
Rock Wall Wine Company
Sacchi Enterprises
Shaw Environmental
St. George Spirits
Stafford Sent Packing
Sustainable Technologies
Trans-Freight Express
Turn Key Productions
Vigor Marine
Waterfront Development Group (Nelson's)
West Coast Novelty

In an effort to consolidate and improve its Northern California service to veterans, the US Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is planning a new state-of-the-art outpatient clinic and offices at Alameda Point. The facilities will be adjacent to the area designated by the city as a Nature Reserve. A columbarium is also proposed as part of this project.

Total estimated cost to complete the project is $230 million. It will include a new roadway and underground infrastructure from the old Main Gate on the north side of Alameda Point, along West Redline Avenue, and out to the site on the runway area.

Transfer of the land from the Navy to the VA took place in 2014. As of May 2021, no commencement date for construction work has been announced. The VA currently has funding of over $100 million.