appears to be making headway on creating what Point Molate will become. Valesco shared that the city will consider land
development entitlements by April of 2020—these will determine what type of buildings will be constructed and how
many.
While there may seem to be a large focus on the builds to be built, only thirty percent of the terrestrial acreage will
be developed leaving the remaining seventy percent for open space, according to Velasco. “We would like to open up
the hillside for potential hiking trails,” she said, naming just one option for improvement of the open space to allow for
beneficial community use.
Currently, the city is awaiting the results of various reviews and analysis, to include an environmental review to assist in
minimizing resource impact, a school analyst to determine the viability of building schools, and a traffic impact study to
help create a plan to manage the traffic impacts that will come from development. Once these impact analyses come back,
the city will be able to solidify entitlements.
In general though, the broad plan for Point Molate will involve the creation of anywhere between 1,500 to 2,200
residential units, to include affordable and market-rate homes. “There is flexibility within our analysis that would allow for
‘flex space’—units that could be used for either residential or commercial depending on where the market demand is,” she
explained. There will also be onsite fire and police stations, which, according to Velasco, will likely be joint stations.
Additionally, the plan includes the rehabilitation and preservation of the Wine Haven complex of buildings. Once the
largest winery in California, this national recognized historical site will find new life through adaptive reuse as possible
commercial or office space, according the Velasco.
Before any foundations can be laid, there is a tremendous amount of infrastructure work that needs to be completed.
“When the military decided to close Point Molate they also eliminated the sewer treatment facility and, while there are
water lines in the area, they are very old,” she described. “We expect that we are going to have to replace them and all of
the electrical will be underground for the site. So, a lot of site preparation work will need to be done.”
As the pieces of the plan come together, Velasco stressed that the city hopes to continue to provide opportunities for
community input. “The public has been visioning what could happen here since the Reuse Plan was adopted,” said
Velasco. “There has certainly been a lot of public input and they’ll continue to be as we go through the final redesign and
development plan.”
As the city of Richmond inches closer to realizing the full potential of Point Molate, it is clear that not everyone will
be completely satisfied with the final plan but the city hopes to please as many elements of the community as possible.
“Overall, the city is trying to create economic development opportunities, housing opportunities—both affordable and
market-rate—and the creation of jobs during and post construction
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