Point Molate is a former Navy fueling station, closed in 1995, and legislated by Congress to be transferred to the City of Richmond as a stimulus to economic development. The Site includes approximately 1.5 miles of Bay shoreline, approximately 90 acres of developed land (including the Winehaven Historical District) and approximately 200 acres of degraded open space. The Navy Record of Decision specifically ruled that use of the site as parkland alone would not qualify under the intent of the Congressional transfer.

However, open space is an important value for local communities, for the project team, and for the Guidiville Tribe. For this reason, the Project has been designed to fit within the existing footprint of development, leaving the majority of the Site open for parks, hiking trails, and ecological restoration. Concentrating development actually improves the vitality and walkability of the village, and surrounds it with a beautiful natural setting.

Making Open Space Affordable and Accessible
Financially strapped communities often struggle to find the resources to acquire and maintain adequate open space. The proposed closure of numerous State Parks due to state budgetary difficulties is an example in point. Because this Project will be a strong economic engine, it will generate sufficient revenues to set aside, restore, and maintain a large majority of the Point Molate site as open space. Existing contractual agreements with the City of Richmond codify that requirement.

Additionally, the entire Point Molate open space is fenced off with no public access due to the extended schedule of cleanup activities, which are currently the responsibility of the US Navy. Navy schedules for completion of cleanup activities have, in the past, extended beyond the year 2015, with no commitment for a firm final date. Just recently, the Point Molate project team and the City of Richmond reached a "handshake" agreement with the US Navy to accelerate those cleanup efforts a, with a multi-million dollar financial contribution from the project, provide an aggressive cleanup the community deserves. These actions will allow access to the open space years before otherwise predicted to occur.

Bay Trail
The Bay Trail is a Bay Area-wide initiative that will eventually create a trail system around the entire Bay. As part of the 2004 Land Disposition Agreement (LDA) with the City of Richmond, a project commitment was extended, with the support of Trails for Richmond Action Committee (TRAC) to dedicate, fund and construct the 1.5 miles of site shoreline for use as part of the Bay Trail. This new addition will add to the existing 24.9 miles of Bay Trail in the City, making Richmond a Bay Area leader with regard to fulfilling its commitment to the Bay Trail effort.

Parks and Gardens
Approximately 180 acres of the Point Molate property is being set aside as open space, including the planned shoreline park along the entire western edge of the Site. The majority of those acres will be passive park, accessed by biking and hiking trails and managed for habitat and watershed health. Parts of the terrace along the coast will be dedicated to active uses, including playgrounds, places for picnics, landings for kayakers and boaters, and plazas for events and gatherings.

A community garden is planned, producing fresh fruits, herbs, and vegetables. This will serve local residents and restaurants, as well as providing an outdoor classroom for local schools and interested neighbors. Also, an ethno-botanical education garden will display traditional plants of cultural importance to local tribes.

Reconnecting to the Shoreline
For several generations, the communities of the Bay Area tended to turn their backs on the Bay. It became an industrial area, and received more than its share of pollutants and landfill. Both the Bay and local communities suffered from this neglect, as lack of contact led to lack of understanding and caring. Recent decades have seen a strong shift back to the Bay, with many communities reconnecting to their waterfronts as places to live, work, and celebrate. With this reconnection has come a heightened awareness of the Bay as a living system—one that needs to be sustained and supported.

Point Molate is part of this larger social phenomenon. It is perhaps a particularly poignant example, since it also represents an attempt by an indigenous community to reconnect to the Bay it once called home. As a new and many layered community development project that will attract and influence millions of visitors, Point Molate will serve as a place for rediscovering and evolving new ways to live in connection with the Bay.