Excerpt:

City staffers have selected a finalist in the contest to develop a waterfront town center at Alameda Point.

They’re recommending that the city negotiate a development deal with Alameda Point Partners to build 800 homes and up to 200,000 square feet of commercial uses on a 68-acre portion of the Point. The council is scheduled to consider approving an exclusive negotiating agreement with the development partnership at its November 18 meeting.

Nine development teams sought the right to develop the property, and four were selected for interviews with a panel of city staffers and community leaders. The panel forwarded Alameda Point Partners and Canadian development giant Brookfield Residential for consideration as finalists, and the city has been negotiating terms with both developers.

Staffers are recommending the city move forward with Alameda Point Partners because of the quality and diversity of developers in the partnership and its development approach, which includes more reuse of existing buildings and heavier development along a planned transportation corridor. Staffers also expressed a high degree of comfort with Joe Ernst, who helped develop Harbor Bay Business Park, and they said they think the Alameda Point project will be a bigger priority for the partnership than for Brookfield.