Excerpt:

The former Naval Air Station in Alameda is a concrete desert, dotted with industrial structures of varying levels of rust. More than 18,000 jobs that once invigorated the area perished when the base shuttered in 1997.

Alameda has tried for two decades to redevelop the 1,560-acre base, which is nearly a quarter of the 10-square-mile island's land mass. In the midst of the dot-com bust in 2001, Alameda picked a partnership led by Shea Homes and Centex Homes as master developers, but withdrew six years later. SunCal followed, but plans died again in 2010 after the city voted to terminate the partnership.

On Monday, Alameda's City Planning Board will vote on the third try.

The plan focuses on just a 68-acre slice of the property, known as Site A, and would add 800 residential units, including 200 affordable homes. A partnership that includes commercial developer srmErnst, residential builder Thompson Dorfman Partners, retail specialist Madison Marquette and affordable housing developer Eden Housing. Toronto-based Tricon Capital Group Inc. is providing financing.