Oakland’s Howard Terminal Sparks Interest From 100 Firms

Howard Terminal, the 50-acre site for a new Oakland ballpark abandoned by the A’s, has sparked interest from a legion of developers, including Prologis, Brookfield and Trammell Crow.

The Port of Oakland said more than 100 firms have inquired about redeveloping the waterfront site at 1 Market Street, next to Jack London Square, the San Francisco Business Times reported.

The city agency began soliciting proposals in September. The deadline is Dec. 9.

Howard Terminal was poised to become a retail village around a new ballpark for the A’s before the baseball team decided a year ago to leave the city for Las Vegas.

The $12 billion development was to include 3,000 homes, 1.5 million square feet of commercial space, 270,000 square feet of shops and restaurants, a 3,500-seat performance center, 400 hotel rooms and 18 acres of public open space.

In September, the port sought requests for proposals for a “wide range” of uses, including maritime and industrial developments. The terminal is now used by maritime firms for big-rig container parking, depot operations and maritime services.

Residential development doesn’t seem a priority for the port.

“We are hoping for creative and innovative concepts for this exceptional site and want to partner with potential developers to contribute to Oakland’s thriving waterfront landscape,” Jonathan Veach, chief real estate officer for the Port of Oakland, told the Business Times.

Interested companies include developers, industrial giants and clean tech startups, as well as architecture and engineering firms and brokerages, according to a sign-up sheet from one of the port’s public meetings and site visits, attended by some 75 parties.

They include the Oakland Roots Soccer Club, San Francisco-based Prologis, New York-based Brookfield Properties, locally based Suda, Richmond-based EarthGrid, Dallas-based Trammell Crow, the Pacific Maritime Association and Virginia-based Cybertran.

None of the companies have submitted formal development applications.

Howard Terminal is in need of structural repairs and needs to undergo substantial environmental cleanup to obtain approvals from the San Francisco Bay Conservation and Development Commission and other regulatory agencies.

That could take “a lot of work,” Robert Bernardo, a spokesman for the port, told the Business Times last year. It took years to approve the Environmental Impact Report for the A’s project, which was dragged out by red tape and lawsuits.

If any development proposal involved a sports stadium, the developer could use the already certified environmental impact report prepared by the A’s, which could benefit the Oakland Roots Sports Club, which has sought a permanent home in Oakland.

Mayor Sheng Thao has said the city would hold $375 million it had earmarked for off-site infrastructure improvements for the A’s new ballpark, which could go towards a new redevelopment of Howard Terminal.

— Dana Bartholomew