Concord Naval Weapons Station development means big changes for neighbors

[Vision67]

Concord approves concepts for billion-dollar, 40-year development at Naval Weapons Station site

The project’s term sheet is a non-binding agreement preceding final contracts for the land’s sale, construction

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https://www.eastbaytimes.com/2024/03...aooeestmsrtf2i

"CONCORD — The ink is drying on the sign-off of the latest vision for the long-anticipated development at the former Concord Naval Weapons Station — a billion-dollar project projected to require five phases of development spread over 40 years.

Hoping that the third time’s the charm to meld the community’s expectations with a transformation that financially works out, city officials have tentatively signed off on the master developer’s conceptual plan for a huge mixed-use, transit-oriented community on the 2,300-acre swath of land.

Brookfield Properties’ current renderings feature roughly 6 million square-feet of commercial space, 880 acres of greenspace and more than 12,200 homes — 25% of which will be reserved for affordable pricing.

Earlier iterations have hit numerous snags since the turn of the century; agreements with two prospective master developers eventually were scrapped following labor disputes, power plays and allegations of backroom deals.

After several months of negotiations, Brookfield reached an agreement with city officials on a conceptual preliminary land-use plan for the sprawling, contaminated military site sandwiched between the 2,600-acre Thurgood Marshall Regional Park and residential neighborhoods along the city’s northern border — stretching from the area of Highway 4 and Willow Pass Road to Concord High School and Bailey Road. The initial estimate of the project’s price is approximately $6 billion."

[Hemlock140]

Originally Posted by mattja

I wonder what they'll do about the topsoil? The Navy must have used 10 million gallons of Roundup on that land. You could smell it from Martinez for decades.

This was my first though too, another huge development on contaminated land that will sell to people that may suffer illnesses in the future. I remember in the 1980s when my (late) father bought a brand new house in West Pittsburg, changed to Bay Point in 1993. He planted his usual vegetable like tomatoes in the back yard and most were odd shaped stunted, the fruits grossly deformed, I hadn't ever seen anything like it. We wondered what was in the soil.

[mattja]

Originally Posted by Hemlock140

This was my first though too, another huge development on contaminated land that will sell to people that may suffer illnesses in the future. I remember in the 1980s when my (late) father bought a brand new house in West Pittsburg, changed to Bay Point in 1993. He planted his usual vegetable like tomatoes in the back yard and most were odd shaped stunted, the fruits grossly deformed, I hadn't ever seen anything like it. We wondered what was in the soil.

West Pittsburg is downwind of and about a mile east of Port Chicago, where the Navy loaded and unloaded high explosives for decades. High explosives are very toxic.

Add to that the copious amounts of herbicides and pesticides used at the Naval Weapons Station, it would not surprise me if the prevailing wind just blew that stuff over to West Pittsburg.

It's difficult to appreciate the smell if you never drove through it. I have, many times. It was horrible. And it smelled that way for many decades. I can't imagine how much chem they used on that soil.

[Vision67]

Originally Posted by mattja

I wonder what they'll do about the topsoil? The Navy must have used 10 million gallons of Roundup on that land. You could smell it from Martinez for decades.

Roundup was introduced by Monsanto in 1974. But prior to that, we used Agent Orange:

Agent Orange was composed of equal parts of two herbicides: 2,4,5-T (2,4,5-trichlorophenoxyacetic acid) and 2,4-D (2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid). However, 2,4,5-T was later found to be contaminated with dioxin, a highly toxic compound. Dioxin is a known carcinogen and has been linked to various health problems, including cancer, birth defects, and other serious conditions.

Due to the adverse health effects associated with exposure to Agent Orange and its dioxin contaminants, its use was discontinued after the Vietnam War. However, the legacy of Agent Orange continues to affect the health and well-being of those who were exposed to it, including military personnel, Vietnamese civilians, and their descendants.

I hope part of the plan for development includes am independent assessment of the soils for each parcel considered for redevelopment.

I would be concerned if they strip the topsoil and it becomes windborne during its removal.

[mattja]

Originally Posted by Vision67

Roundup was introduced by Monsanto in 1974. But prior to that, we used Agent Orange:

Agent Orange was composed of equal parts of two herbicides: 2,4,5-T (2,4,5-trichlorophenoxyacetic acid) and 2,4-D (2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid). However, 2,4,5-T was later found to be contaminated with dioxin, a highly toxic compound. Dioxin is a known carcinogen and has been linked to various health problems, including cancer, birth defects, and other serious conditions.

Due to the adverse health effects associated with exposure to Agent Orange and its dioxin contaminants, its use was discontinued after the Vietnam War. However, the legacy of Agent Orange continues to affect the health and well-being of those who were exposed to it, including military personnel, Vietnamese civilians, and their descendants.

I hope part of the plan for development includes am independent assessment of the soils for each parcel considered for redevelopment.

I would be concerned if they strip the topsoil and it becomes windborne during its removal.

We studied Agent Orange, PCBs and Dioxin when I was in college (soon after the Vietnam War ended.) 2,4,5-T; 2,4-D -- all familiar to me. I think it was in a health sciences class. Anyway, nasty stuff. Especially, dioxin. Insta-cancer. As far as the base, they were using Roundup or similar when I moved up here.

I used to visit the weapons station IT building a couple of times a week in the late-1980s. The smell was horrible.

Even with the prevailing wind being from the west, you could smell the herbicides a half-mile west of the base and 1 mile east of it. As you drove through it, you could smell it with your windows up.

They sprayed that land with tens of thousands of gallons of that crap for decades.