Title
Study Session to Review Architectural Concepts for Reuse of the Bachelor Enlisted Quarters as a Technology Campus at Alameda Point
Body
To: Honorable Chairs and
Members of the Historical Advisory Board and Planning Board
From: Jennifer Ott, Base Reuse and Transportation Planning Director
Michelle Giles, Redevelopment Planning Manager
BACKGROUND
Since the closure of Naval Air Station Alameda (NAS Alameda), one of the primary goals for the redevelopment of the base has been the replacement of the approximately 18,000 jobs that were lost in Alameda when the base closed. The Community Reuse Plan (1996), and the General Plan Amendment (2014), have identified the reuse of existing buildings, specifically in the NAS Historic District, as an effective and appropriate job generating strategy for Alameda.
Since the departure of the Navy in 1996, all of the existing large hangars in the Historic District have been leased for employment generating uses. However, a few of the largest buildings, such as the Bachelor Enlisted Quarters (BEQ) remain vacant because they are in need of significant investment.
The BEQ complex is comprised of five individual buildings on 21 acres with approximately 500,000 square feet of floor area. The BEQ has remained vacant since the Navy's departure and has been severely vandalized over the years.
Given its campus-like configuration, staff believes that the BEQ complex 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 an excellent location in the middle of the NAS Historic District; adjacent to wineries, distilleries, breweries, and other high tech companies like Google, Wrightspeed, Saildrone, Natel Energy, and Astra Space; walking distance from the Main Street ferry terminal and the future Seaplane Lagoon ferry terminal; and...
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