Excerpt:

Exhibits:

1. BAR Architects Proposal

2. Updated Fee Schedule

3. BAR Architects Contract for Architectural and Urban Design Services
.....

Recommendation to Authorize the City Manager to Enter into a One Year Agreement with BAR Architects, with the Option of Two One-Year Extensions for Time Only, for a Total Amount of $199,450 for Architectural and Urban Design Services for Evaluating the Potential for and Preparing Materials to Support the Adaptive Reuse of the Bachelor Enlisted Quarters (BEQ) as a Technology Campus at Alameda Point. (Base Reuse 819099)

To: Honorable Mayor and Members of the City Council
From: Jill Keimach, City Manager

Re: Recommendation to Authorize the City Manager to Enter into a One Year Agreement with BAR Architects, with the Option of Two One-Year Extensions for Time Only, for a Total Amount of $199,450 for Architectural and Urban Design Services for Evaluating the Potential for and Preparing Materials to Support the Adaptive Reuse of the Bachelor Enlisted Quarters (BEQ) as a Technology Campus at Alameda Point

BACKGROUND

Since before the closure of Naval Air Station Alameda (NAS Alameda), one of the primary goals for the redevelopment of the base was the replacement of the 18,000 jobs that would be lost when the base closed. The Community Reuse Plan (1996), Alameda Point Conceptual Plan (2013), General Plan Amendment (2014), and the Zoning Ordinance (2014) have consistently identified the reuse of buildings, specifically in the Adaptive Reuse sub-district, for job generating uses.

All of the “low-hanging fruit” buildings, like the large hangars are leased and the buildings still vacant are in need of significant investment in interior and exterior renovations. One of the most iconic buildings in the Adaptive Reuse sub-district is the Bachelor Enlisted Quarters (BEQ). It sits on 21 acres and has approximately 500,000 square feet of building area. It has been chronically vacant since the Navy left and is severely vandalized. For many years, it has been thought of for housing, since it was the original use of the site. However, in discussions during the Main Street Neighborhood Specific Plan’s approval process at the City Council, the remaining housing under the Navy’s residential housing cap was thought best used in Main Street to maximize the amount of moderate/workforce housing that could be developed. Since that time, staff has considered the idea that the BEQ might have broad appeal among tech companies that desire unique and authentic spaces and are increasingly interested in socially responsible adaptive reuse of historic buildings, such as the Twitter and Airbnb headquarters in San Francisco. With a strategic location in the middle of the campus-like setting of the historic Civic Core, close to wineries and distilleries, the Main Street Ferry Terminal, athletic facilities and open space, the BEQ has many of the locational qualities that are sought after by tech companies in the Bay Area and around the world.

To demonstrate the potential of the BEQ as a tech campus and to draw the interest of potential users and developers, staff issued a Request for Proposals (RFP) for architectural services to do a conceptual feasibility of the buildings and to develop concept renderings and possible floorplan configurations that could support a future RFP for a specific tech campus user or developer, if directed by City Council to pursue this option. Staff believes this initial step is necessary to add additional certainty about how the floor plate requirements could be met, to provide some initial feedback and indication of acceptance by the community and Boards and Commissions, and to help end-users visualize how the dilapidated buildings could be configured to meet their needs.