Massive housing development plans for Concord Naval Weapons Station clears latest hurdle

CONCORD - The Concord Naval Weapons Station has sat abandoned for decades. City officials just agreed to a deal that would move forward development of the site.

Concord is expected to acquire about 2,422 acres of land from the U.S. Navy, with plans over the next 30 years to add new housing, businesses, community centers, and other needed infrastructure.

In exchange, the Navy could receive about $628 million over that 30-year period, paid in large part by Brookfield Properties, the master developer behind the project, state and federal grants, and city loans, which Brookfield will repay to the city.

Another roughly 2,600 acres has been or will be given to the East Bay Regional Parks District and Contra Costa County for open space and public benefit at no cost. Those details were set out in a term sheet unanimously approved by the City Council on Tuesday.

"This is a big deal," said Economic Development Director Guy Bjerke, who served on the City Council from 2007 to 2010. "Reaching this agreement is a key milestone creating financial clarity around project cost."

Bjerke said he anticipates the Department of the Navy will make its final determination by the end of June. It's unlikely that the Navy will back out of the deal, Bjerke said, noting he'd "be very, very surprised."

"If the navy were to blow this up, they'd blow it up. They wouldn't just tinker with it," Bjerke said.

Brookfield Properties, the third developer to take on the project, plans to build 6 million square-feet of commercial space and more than 12,200 homes. Another 880 acres would remain open greenspace.

Before moving forward with development, Brookfield Properties will develop a specific plan for the site that will detail the vision for what the area will be transformed into. The specific plan process, including public engagement, will likely begin in August, said Josh Roden, the company’s president of Northern California Land Development and Housing Operations.

“It's not going to be all balloons and candles all the time, but we’re setting it up to be very successful and I think everybody will be very proud of the community,” Roden said.

The Concord Naval Weapons Station was used during World War II as a munitions shipment yard. It was damaged during the 1944 Port Chicago munitions explosion that killed more than 320 people, including more than 200 Black sailors.

The city has been in negotiations with the Navy over the use of the site since the early 2000s, with ideas to turn the site into public open space. Past attempts to develop the site have faltered, making Tuesday’s council vote the first major step toward future planning in years.

"It's been a long haul in getting here. Lots of starts and stops, starts and stops, but I'm glad to see we're getting toward at least completing this round around the track," said Councilmember Laura Hoffmeister, the longest-serving member currently sitting on the council. The lifelong Concord resident was first elected to the council in 1997.

Housing advocates, business groups, and representatives from the building trades all encouraged the council to accept the terms sheet – among them the Bay Area Council, a business advocacy organization, and the East Bay Housing Organizations, which has spent nearly two decades advocating for affordable and homeless housing at the site.

After years of contentious debate on what to do with the site, they argued the deal would bring decades of good construction jobs, new housing, and commercial growth to the city.

Matt Regan, senior vice president of Public Policy at Bay Area Council, warned that strong fiscal oversight will be critical in completing the project.

"A lot of water has passed under a lot of bridges to get us to this point," Regan said. "We can't sort of milk this project to death. We've got to make sure it's financially viable until we're cutting ribbons."

While pleased to see an agreement reached, councilmembers similarly acknowledged that more work is still needed to finalize the project scope and move that vision forward.

"This will take years of work, oversight, planning and community engagement but tonight is about momentum, it's about finally moving from conversation into action," Councilmember Pablo Benavente said.

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This story was originally published May 27, 2026 at 4:25 PM.