The Navy has completed the final round of inspections and cleanup of the last traces of the radioactive metal called Radium-226 in Building 5 at Alameda Point. The aircraft hangar complex is where the Navy refurbished its planes, including repainting tiny instrument dials, switches, and markers with glow-in-the-dark paint that contained radium.
Radium is a naturally occurring element found in miniscule amounts in soil and water posing no health risk. Its risk comes from ingesting the element regularly, such as in industrial settings.
The City of Alameda recently closed escrow on the sale of the 50,000-square-foot Building 91 at West Tower Avenue and Pan Am Way on Alameda Point, across West Tower from the powertrain manufacturer Wrightspeed. The transaction marks the city’s first successful sale of property for private development at the Point. The commercial developer is currently restoring the 73-year-old former storage facility for modern-day commercial use.
The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Alameda Point healthcare facility and columbarium will eliminate about 12 acres of existing wetlands on the runways at Alameda Point. The federal Clean Water Act requires that the VA compensate the city for the adverse effects that this loss will have on its project.
Alameda Naval Air Museum’s (ANAM) motto — “Come see history in your own backyard” — will have special meaning this Saturday, April 1. The museum invites everyone young and old to visit Alameda Point, where they can look to the skies around 11:45 a.m. to witness a B-25 flying over the former Naval Air Station. The historical aircraft is making its appearance to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the departure of the USS Hornet CV-8 from Alameda Naval Air Station on April 1, 1942, to begin the Doolittle Raid.
Cleanup of contaminated groundwater between Alameda Point’s Seaplane Lagoon and Main Street is about to begin. The Navy will present its plan for doing so at this evening’s Restoration Advisory Board meeting. The meeting will convene at 6:30 p.m. at City Hall West, 950 West Mall Square.
At this meeting, the Navy will also review the longterm and costly maintenance plan for the soil cover over the underground dump at the northwestern tip of Alameda Point: an area to become city property and eventually part of a regional park.
The City of Alameda will adopt a resolution that will declare its intention to create a Community Facilities District (CFD) at Alameda Point. Private property owners who acquire public land from the city within the district will be levied a special tax.
The resolution was established at the March 7 City Council meeting. The formation of the district is authorized through the City of Alameda’s Special Tax Financing Improvement Code Alameda Municipal Code, Section 3-70, according to a memorandum from City Manager Jill Keimach.
Navy puts 14.9-acre former housing site up for auction
On Wednesday, April 12, the Navy will auction off part of its long-vacant property known as North Housing. The opening bid for the 14.9-acre parcel is $5 million. The federal government’s General Services Administration will conduct the auction.
A legacy of disappointment continues on the aircraft runway area at Alameda Point. In the nearly 20 years since the Navy ended operations there, the community has lost 74 acres of open space. This was once slated to become city property, the possibility for a 550-acre national wildlife refuge and a state-of-the-art community hospital to be run jointly with Alameda Healthcare District to serve veterans and non-veterans.
There is still no groundbreaking scheduled for the veterans’ clinic and columbarium.
If all goes as planned the 108-acre Main Street Neighborhood on the northeastern edge of Alameda Point will serve the community as a mixed-use area, primarily made up of homes.
The Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC) issued a new regional planning document on Aug. 30, with suggested housing numbers to meet state goals. MTC is requesting input from local jurisdictions.
A draft response from City Planner Andrew Thomas slams the commission’s recommendations as being woefully out of touch with Alameda’s limited regional transit connections.
