Book Description

Since 1988 the United States federal government has been closing military installations in the United States through the Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) process. Some communities are able to quickly redevelop their former bases into thriving new neighborhoods within their borders while others are unsuccessful. This thesis is a case study of why redevelopment of the former Naval Air Station, Alameda (Alameda Point) has failed for over 10 years. After a historical overview of Alameda Point, I generally describe the base closure process before exploring themes from several case studies of both successful and unsuccessful base redevelopment. The successful base reuse projects had community support, employed creative and adaptive financial strategies, and were seen as public benefits by the communities. Along with lack of leadership, unsuccessful base reuse efforts had elements of divisiveness within the community or among the involved stakeholders. I then used the above themes to analyze the Alameda Point case. There is now arguably little community support for the most current Alameda Point redevelopment plans. The City's policy of fiscal neutrality complicates the employment of creative and adaptive financial strategies. Finally, public benefits are not apparent in the current planning for Alameda Point. Lack of City leadership and competing interests amongst stakeholders has led to divisiveness in Alameda furthering stalled redevelopment. Alameda Point has additional issues making redevelopment stagnate including environmental cleanup uncertainty, property conveyance procedures, land use economics and property restrictions. I concluded this thesis with recommendations for public-private partnerships and for further research to include a case study comparing Hunter's Point, Treasure Island, and Alameda Point. Finally, I offer a learned approach to base reuse that requires City leaders and developers to create a financially feasible reuse plan with community supported public benefits. Once approved, this plan must be expeditiously built out to ensure market survivability and delivery of public benefits for a community that puts a very high value on public land.