Alameda Point News Stories

Excerpt:

Treasure Island redevelopment

$1.46 billion Expected development costs
$118 million Expected sale price of island from Navy to San Francisco
7,540 Units of housing planned
250 Hotel rooms planned
202,000 square feet Retail space planned
3 Ferries planned between island and San Francisco
650 feet Maximum planned tower height

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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.

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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."

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.