Former Concord Navy Depot Slated for 16,000 Homes

A long-term development plan for the former Concord Naval Weapons station is back on the table after Concord First Partners and the city of Concord reached an agreement to add another 3,300 apartment units to the development.

Concord First Partners, the Contra Costa County-based developers, selected last year to redevelop 2,300 acres of the decommissioned US Navy facility, has now agreed to build 15,595 homes in phases over the next 40 years.

Concord Naval Weapons Station was a military base established in 1942 north of the city of Concord at the shore of the Sacramento River where it widens into Suisun Bay. The base functioned as a World War II armament storage depot, supplying ships at nearby Port Chicago.

After the base was decommissioned, the East Bay Regional Park District received 2,540 acres of the Inland Area that will be developed for public use as Concord Hills Regional Park.

In addition, 2,300 acres was transferred to the city of Concord, whose Concord Community Reuse Project has been overseeing plan that has included housing, businesses, a college campus and other development.

According to a report in the San Francisco Business Times, Concord First Partners withdrew its initial proposal to build 13, 000 units, telling the city five months ago that the $6B East Bay project was no longer economically feasible.

The addition of 3,300 housing units and an adjustment to the project’s 25% affordable housing share improved the financial balance sheet for the project, with the new plan slated to get a public hearing in January.

The redevelopment of the former naval supply depot has been a top priority in Concord for the past 20 years, with several false starts, including a developer who fell out of contract in 2020.

The 40-year-development is planning to encompass more than 6M SF of commercial space as well as housing. The development is spaced out over four decades to facilitate the restoration Mount Diablo Creek.

Concord First Partners is a venture formed by Albert Seeno Jr., Discovery Builders President Louis Parsons and Oakland builder Phil Tagami.

The first phase of the project will include 2,873 apartment units, including 693 that are designated as affordable. The 423-acre tract also will feature 80-acres of parks.

Each phase of the project must be approved by the Navy before land is transferred for development. Phase one will be part of a 1,400-acre parcel that is expected to be approved for transfer next year.