Alameda Point News Stories

Orange County Business Journal: SunCal Cos.’ Bay Area Base Redevelopment in Jeopardy

Excerpt:

Irvine-based master developer SunCal Cos. is searching for a “Plan C” to push ahead on the massive redevelopment plan it has in the works for the Bay Area.

A ballot measure that would have cleared the way for SunCal to start redeveloping about half of the 1,500-acre former Alameda Naval Air Station was soundly shot down by that city’s voters about a month ago.

Now the city of Alameda is reportedly threatening to end SunCal’s exclusive negotiating agreement for the site, now known as Alameda Point, if a better plan isn’t drawn up soon by the developer.

East Bay Express: Alameda Point Deadline Looms

Excerpt:

Having failed to enact its plan via the ballot box, the developer's last shot at the 770-acre former Naval Air Station is to take the more traditional route of applying to the city for things like zoning changes and entitlements. It also must find a legal way around Alameda's strict charter amendment, Measure A(1973) The actual text of what is known as Measure A is article 26 of the Alameda City Charter. It reads as follows: "Sec. 26-1. There shall be no multiple dwelling units built in the City of Alameda. Sec. 26-2. Exception being the Alameda Housing Authority replacement of existing low cost housing units and the proposed Senior Citizens low cost housing complex, pursuant to Article XXV of the Charter of the City of Alameda. Sec. 26-3. The maximum density for any residential development within the City of Alameda shall be one housing unit per 2,000 square feet of land. This limitation shall not apply to the repair or replacement of existing residential units, whether single-family or multiple-unit, which are damaged or destroyed by fire or other disaster; provided that the total number of residential units on any lot may not be increased. This limitation also shall not apply to replacement units under Section 26-2." , which prohibits building anything bigger than a duplex.

Orange County Register: SunCal continues efforts to fund Marblehead

Excerpt:

What's the status of SunCal Marblehead LLC, developer of the Marblehead Coastal property, since San Clemente's City Council called in $55 million worth of bonds SunCal had posted?

Mercury News: Master distiller Lance Winters turns landscapes into spirits

Excerpt:

On a hazy winter afternoon, St. George Spirits distiller Lance Winters sits in his lab on Alameda Island, unlit stogie in hand, surveying his tools and tinctures.

"This one here is turkey rhubarb," he says, extending a small, uncorked bottle of bitters. "And this one over here is ambergris, a whale secretion. It's used as a base in many perfumes."

Contra Costa Times: Concord awaits Navy's decision on weapons station

Excerpt:

CONCORD — The swath of hills and grassland expands in all directions from the ridge where Michael Wright stands.

He raises his arm toward the horizon, pointing out what could be built at the shuttered Concord Naval Weapons Station — townhouses here, a park there, a university campus in that nearly hidden valley.

It's easy to envision while looking at the city's color-coded maps of the plan.

The Island: A little bit of this, a little bit of that

Excerpt:

The developer withdrew its requests that the city extend its exclusive negotiating agreement to ink a development deal at the base by two years, and also asked the city to table its request to rescind the notice of default the city sent on February 5. But the council voted to ask SunCal to allow the city to amend its agreement to open negotiations and release negotiation documents, including the pro forma that lays out the financial assumptions that underpin SunCal’s plan. Meanwhile, opponents of SunCal and their plan said they want the city to kick the developer off the Island.

The Island: SunCal withdraws extension request

Excerpt:

SunCal has withdrawn its request that the city extend the term of the exclusive negotiating agreement it holds to ink an Alameda Point development deal by two years. The City Council, sitting as the Alameda Reuse and Redevelopment Authority, had been set to make a decision on that request tonight. City staff recommended the council deny the request.

San Francisco Business Times: SunCal Co. stumbles on Alameda naval project

Excerpt:

Developer SunCal Co.’s proposal to redevelop a 750-acre portion of a former naval base in Alameda has received a few blows lately, but the developer says it will dust off the plan and try again.

First, more than three-quarters of the island city’s voters turned down a ballot measure on Feb. 2 that would have given the Irvine-based SunCal the green light to overstep density limits.

Then, the city slapped the developer with a notice of default on its exclusive negotiating agreement for failing to meet a critical milestone.

Orange County Register: Settlement could stir new activity at Marblehead Coastal site

Excerpt:

Work on roads, a bridge and other public works at the stalled 248-acre Marblehead Coastal development could resume through a lawsuit settlement that is up for City Council ratification Tuesday night.

San Clemente filed suit in 2008 after progress sputtered to a halt on the site for 308 homes and a 640,000-square-foot commercial center along southbound I-5 at the Avenida Vista Hermosa exit.

Alameda Sun: Gallant's AlPo [Alameda Point] Ultimatum

Excerpt:

Two days after Alameda voters soundly rejected Measure BSunCal's ballot measure to redevelop Alameda Point. It was defeated by a vote of 85 to 15 percent on February 2, 2010. , Interim City Manager Anne Marie Gallant issued a default notice to hopeful Alameda Point developer SunCal.

Gallant's default notice informed SunCal that it had 30 days to submit a new Measure A(1973) The actual text of what is known as Measure A is article 26 of the Alameda City Charter. It reads as follows: "Sec. 26-1. There shall be no multiple dwelling units built in the City of Alameda. Sec. 26-2. Exception being the Alameda Housing Authority replacement of existing low cost housing units and the proposed Senior Citizens low cost housing complex, pursuant to Article XXV of the Charter of the City of Alameda. Sec. 26-3. The maximum density for any residential development within the City of Alameda shall be one housing unit per 2,000 square feet of land. This limitation shall not apply to the repair or replacement of existing residential units, whether single-family or multiple-unit, which are damaged or destroyed by fire or other disaster; provided that the total number of residential units on any lot may not be increased. This limitation also shall not apply to replacement units under Section 26-2." -compliant development plan for the Point. If SunCal failed to meet the deadline, the city would be terminating its Exclusive Negotiation Agreement (ENAExclusive Negotiating Agreement) with the company, Gallant stated.