Richmond OKs turning Point Molate into 80-acre park

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The Richmond City Council is poised to create an 80-acre regional park at Point Molate, an old Navy fuel storage facility located on the San Pablo Peninsula about a mile north of the Richmond-San Rafael Bridge. July 12, 2024

POINT MOLATE, Calif. - The Richmond City Council on Friday voted to create an 80-acre regional park at Point Molate, an old Navy fuel storage facility located on the San Pablo Peninsula about a mile north of the Richmond-San Rafael Bridge.

The site is home to osprey, leopard sharks, otters, carbon-sequestering eelgrass, vital watersheds, and irreplaceable habitat and biodiversity.

Richmond Councilmember Gayle McLaughlin said moving toward turning this land into a park was a 20-plus-year endeavor.

"We have once again demonstrated that with hard work and perseverance, dreams can and do come true," she said in a statement.

Point Molate is a former United States Naval Fuel Depot and was transferred to Richmond as part of the federal base closure and reuse process. The property being transferred includes 81.56 acres and all the former development parcels including the historic Winehaven property.

Going back to the site’s earliest history, the Ohlone tribes lived and hunted on the land, leaving many sacred burial sites that need protection.

Point Molate, an old Navy fuel storage facility near the Richmond-San Rafael Bridge.

The council's vote to sign a letter of intent will then be signed by the East Bay Regional Park District, Point Molate Futures LLC owned by the Guidiville Rancheria of California, and the City of Richmond.

The East Bay Regional Park District will then buy the land for $40 million; $36 million of which comes from the state of California.

McLaughlin personally thanked state Sen. Nancy Skinner (D-Berkeley) who secured the money.

"This is truly a great day for the East Bay and all of California," Skinner said in a statement. "I am thrilled that Point Molate’s 80 acres will now and forever be preserved as parkland and open space."

Previously proposed projects for the site throughout the years have included a Las Vegas-style casino proposed in 2004, and more recently a high-end waterfront housing project, the SunCal project – neither of which were approved.

McLaughlin said the East Bay Regional Park District Board will vote on Tuesday on buying the land, which will likely be approved by the California Coastal Conservancy on Sept. 5. The deal will likely be completed by the end of 2024.