Birds Fly
Tonight, the Alameda Reuse and Redevelopment Authority (ARRA) will hear a presentation by the Veterans Administration (VA) for their plan to build a 53 acre Columbrium/Masauleum, 250,000 sf Hospital, 240,000 Administration building, and 80,000 sf clinic at Alameda Point.
The proposal is to use some of the land currently proposed as a National Wildlife Refuge and erect the proposed buildings 1/3 of mile from the center of the refuge (as far as the currently existing historic structures on the west end of the PDC area). You can see the proposed layout in this slide from tonight’s presentation.
It’s interesting that they are trying to maintain the bird sanctuary, though clearly less of it. It seems that they’ve heard from the birding community and are looking for a hybrid plan birds and vets, living together in harmony. They’ve even incorporated a nature center. Looks like someone’s trying to avoid a fight!
A half million square feet of veteran infrastructure is nothing to sneeze at! I can’t quickly find the size of the Alameda Hospital for comparison, and clearly hospitals and commercial areas don’t exactly compare, but Alameda landing is adding 300,000 sf of retail (about 60% the size).
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