LOS ANGELES—The US Navy, the Maritime Administration and the California Environmental Protection Agency have approved to transfer ownership of 125 acres of land from the former Navy complex to the City of Long Beach. The Port of Long Beach land has operated the land site as Pier T container terminal, one of the Port's terminals and the terminal that can accommodate megaships, since the late 1990s under a lease.
“Almost all of the 125 acres is already being used on Pier T,” Lee Peterson of the Port of Long Beach, tells GlobeSt.com. “The ownership transfer formally deeds property to the Port that we have had control of since 1998, and with the Navy and MARAD, have cleaned up and developed. So it won't change operations at the terminal by giving additional space, but it does underscore the success of converting a shut-down Navy base into a thriving commercial operation. City leaders back in the 1990s at the time when the Defense Department made the decision to close the base had no way of knowing that the Pier T terminal would be a success.”
The ownership transfer will be done slowly over the next several years. This will allow for environmental clean up of the property, where needed. Although much of the property has been developed for the terminal use, soil investigations are also being completed. “The process of transferring ownership takes time due to the need to ensure that the soil and sediment involved has been brought up to standards of safety,” says Peterson. “If there is contamination, it has to be removed and disposed of, or it has to be contained in place. The containment allows for industrial uses to use the land, and that's what the Port has. The significant challenges of land transfer come from following the remediation policies of the federal and the city governments involved.”
In addition to the 125 acres, there are two smaller parcels that will also be transferred in the next couple of years. This land is also being transferred under the Port Conveyance Program and was formerly part of the Navy complex. “The final parcels in total are a few dozen acres of land,” adds Peterson. “They also are mostly occupied with various Pier T facilities, so the change is more about title deed transfer than new development. Those parcels should be ready for transfer in 2018.”
LOS ANGELES—The US Navy, the Maritime Administration and the California Environmental Protection Agency have approved to transfer ownership of 125 acres of land from the former Navy complex to the City of Long Beach. The Port of Long Beach land has operated the land site as Pier T container terminal, one of the Port's terminals and the terminal that can accommodate megaships, since the late 1990s under a lease.
“Almost all of the 125 acres is already being used on Pier T,” Lee Peterson of the Port of Long Beach, tells GlobeSt.com. “The ownership transfer formally deeds property to the Port that we have had control of since 1998, and with the Navy and MARAD, have cleaned up and developed. So it won't change operations at the terminal by giving additional space, but it does underscore the success of converting a shut-down Navy base into a thriving commercial operation. City leaders back in the 1990s at the time when the Defense Department made the decision to close the base had no way of knowing that the Pier T terminal would be a success.”
The ownership transfer will be done slowly over the next several years. This will allow for environmental clean up of the property, where needed. Although much of the property has been developed for the terminal use, soil investigations are also being completed. “The process of transferring ownership takes time due to the need to ensure that the soil and sediment involved has been brought up to standards of safety,” says Peterson. “If there is contamination, it has to be removed and disposed of, or it has to be contained in place. The containment allows for industrial uses to use the land, and that's what the Port has. The significant challenges of land transfer come from following the remediation policies of the federal and the city governments involved.”
In addition to the 125 acres, there are two smaller parcels that will also be transferred in the next couple of years. This land is also being transferred under the Port Conveyance Program and was formerly part of the Navy complex. “The final parcels in total are a few dozen acres of land,” adds Peterson. “They also are mostly occupied with various Pier T facilities, so the change is more about title deed transfer than new development. Those parcels should be ready for transfer in 2018.”
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