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ALAMEDA//DEVELOPMENT | Sixteen years after the Alameda’s Naval Air Station closed forever, the U.S. officially conveyed the scenic, but still toxic Alameda Point back to the city of Alameda.

“Come to Alameda Point,” said Alameda Mayor Marie Gilmore. “We are open for business.”

At an outdoor ceremony Monday afternoon on the grounds of the former Navy base, Gilmore and Assistant Secretary of the Navy Roger Natsuhara officially signed the conveyance of Alameda Point over seven decades after the point was ceded to the federal government.

The road to turning over the former Navy installation back to Alameda has been long and arduous. But, in 2012, the federal government offered the over 1,300 acres of waterfront land offering some of the most sweeping panoramas of the San Francisco Bay, back to the city at no cost.

“The Alameda community has been waiting a very long time--a very long time--for this moment,” said Alameda City Manager John Russo. “We’ve crossed one finish line and find ourselves ready to race at another starting line. No more false starts in this race. Now is the time.”