Excerpt:

ALAMEDA, Calif. -- Fourteen years after the Alameda Naval Air Station was closed due to budget cuts, city of Alameda and U.S. Navy officials announced Thursday that the Navy has agreed to transfer the 918-acre site back to the city at no cost.

Speaking at a news conference at the site, which is now known as Alameda Point, Mayor Marie Gilmore said, "This is a momentous occasion" and "is truly a watershed day for the city."

The city lost 14,000 military and civilian jobs when the Naval base closed in 1997, but Gilmore said redeveloping the site could potentially create 6,000 to 9,000 permanent jobs plus thousands of temporary construction jobs.

Gilmore said the expected new jobs and tax revenues "are something we really need."