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Oakland clears path for Coliseum City development
By Mike Blasky mblasky@bayareanewsgroup.com
POSTED: 04/01/2015 06:16:30 AM PDT1 COMMENT| UPDATED: ABOUT 15 HOURS AGO
If the Raiders are really interested in Oakland's grand plans to keep the team from leaving the city, there is no more red tape in their way.
The Oakland City Council late Tuesday passed several key environmental and planning measures for its Coliseum City proposal, laying the groundwork for the Raiders -- or any other developer interested in the massive project -- to finally step forward and show their commitment.
The council first certified an environmental report for the 800 acres surrounding the city's three sports teams at the Coliseum complex north of Interstate 880 in East Oakland.
The council then voted to accept a specific plan for the development and re-zone the area to fit its optimal vision for the site: Three new sports venues, 5,750 homes and nearly 8 million square feet of urban retail and office space with convenient access to BART and the highway.
Both steps were necessary if the city hopes to sign a development deal with the Raiders for a new football stadium. It will also allow the city to entice other developers, who normally navigate zoning and environmental issues on project-by-project basis, often at their own expense.
But the city has already done the heavy lifting at Coliseum City.
"It's one of the most powerful tools the city of Oakland has brought to the table," said Edward Manasse, Oakland's planning manager for Coliseum City.
It was certainly a milestone night for city planners, who had worked on the project for about three years.
But the city's dream is effectively dead if Oakland does not receive a commitment from one of its sports teams, and so far only the Raiders have shown a mild interest. The Oakland A's aren't intrigued by San Diego businessman Floyd Kephart or the Coliseum City proposal he is financing, and the Warriors are building a new arena in San Francisco.
Andy Dolich, a former executive with the A's and Memphis Grizzlies, said last week that Coliseum City without a sports team is "like a shark without teeth."
City leaders said the next step is for its hand-picked partner, Kephart, to secure a deal with the Raiders. Kephart has an exclusive negotiating agreement with the city and County of Alameda, which jointly owns the 200-acre Coliseum site, which includes Oracle Arena.
But there are significant hurdles to any deal with the Raiders. Taxpayers are on the hook for nearly $100 million in debt because of renovations made to the Coliseum when the team returned from Los Angeles in the '90s.
And officials are not sure how the public could pay for more than $100 million in new streets, utilities and other infrastructure improvements that would be needed to build the homes, offices and shops for the multibillion project.
Kephart has until Aug. 21 to present the county and city with his financing plan.
Oakland clears path for Coliseum City development
By Mike Blasky mblasky@bayareanewsgroup.com
POSTED: 04/01/2015 06:16:30 AM PDT1 COMMENT| UPDATED: ABOUT 15 HOURS AGO
If the Raiders are really interested in Oakland's grand plans to keep the team from leaving the city, there is no more red tape in their way.
The Oakland City Council late Tuesday passed several key environmental and planning measures for its Coliseum City proposal, laying the groundwork for the Raiders -- or any other developer interested in the massive project -- to finally step forward and show their commitment.
The council first certified an environmental report for the 800 acres surrounding the city's three sports teams at the Coliseum complex north of Interstate 880 in East Oakland.
The council then voted to accept a specific plan for the development and re-zone the area to fit its optimal vision for the site: Three new sports venues, 5,750 homes and nearly 8 million square feet of urban retail and office space with convenient access to BART and the highway.
Both steps were necessary if the city hopes to sign a development deal with the Raiders for a new football stadium. It will also allow the city to entice other developers, who normally navigate zoning and environmental issues on project-by-project basis, often at their own expense.
But the city has already done the heavy lifting at Coliseum City.
"It's one of the most powerful tools the city of Oakland has brought to the table," said Edward Manasse, Oakland's planning manager for Coliseum City.
It was certainly a milestone night for city planners, who had worked on the project for about three years.
But the city's dream is effectively dead if Oakland does not receive a commitment from one of its sports teams, and so far only the Raiders have shown a mild interest. The Oakland A's aren't intrigued by San Diego businessman Floyd Kephart or the Coliseum City proposal he is financing, and the Warriors are building a new arena in San Francisco.
Andy Dolich, a former executive with the A's and Memphis Grizzlies, said last week that Coliseum City without a sports team is "like a shark without teeth."
City leaders said the next step is for its hand-picked partner, Kephart, to secure a deal with the Raiders. Kephart has an exclusive negotiating agreement with the city and County of Alameda, which jointly owns the 200-acre Coliseum site, which includes Oracle Arena.
But there are significant hurdles to any deal with the Raiders. Taxpayers are on the hook for nearly $100 million in debt because of renovations made to the Coliseum when the team returned from Los Angeles in the '90s.
And officials are not sure how the public could pay for more than $100 million in new streets, utilities and other infrastructure improvements that would be needed to build the homes, offices and shops for the multibillion project.
Kephart has until Aug. 21 to present the county and city with his financing plan.
