Port of Oakland BRAC development problems

from yesterday's GlobeSt --

Port Muddies Plans for Army Base Redevelopment
By Brian K. Miller
OAKLAND, CA-Plans for the mixed-use redevelopment of 70 acres of former Oakland Army Base waterfront have hit a wall.

"Shortly after a joint venture of Hollywood’s Wayans brothers and Los Angeles-based Pacifica Capital Group signed an Exclusive Negotiating Agreement with the city for the acquisition and development of the site, the Port of Oakland, its next door neighbor, revealed plans to fill 42 acres of the Bay and erect a container wall that would block dramatic views of the Bay, the Bay Bridge and Downtown San Francisco from a significant portion of the site.

The JV’s ENA does not allow for such changes to the development program or plan, however, so the ENA is no longer in effect, Britten Shuford of Pacifica tells GlobeSt.com. The JV is nonetheless moving ahead with a modification of its plans with hope the city is still on board." ...

"The Port’s planned expansion would block views from the site’s westernmost 50 acres, which was slated for the first phase of development. Plans called for Wayans Brothers’ Destination Oakland, a 917,000-sf mixed-use project that includes a 435,000-sf film production studio and creative office center, as well as 480,000 sf of retail, entertainment and educational offerings.

“We go from having amazing views to having a wall of containers to look at; any suggestion that we don’t need to modify our development plans would be outrageous,” Shuford says. “With containers on two sides, there would be no compelling reason why a creative company would want to come here from Emeryville, San Francisco, L.A. or anywhere else.”

Shuford says all the uses can still be fit onto the site but must be rearranged if the city is not successful in working out a compromise with the Port, which local sources say doesn’t appear likely. There is no quick fix, however, because the easternmost 17 acres of the site is leased through 2013 to the California Department of Transportation for use as staging for bridge repairs. Shuford says new layout for the development will be ready in a few weeks and will be presented to the City Council before being released to the public." ....

for the complete story see:
http://www.globest.com/news/1000_1000/sanfrancisco/164330-1.html