BCDC Oakland A's vote upcoming

OAKLAND, Calif. (KRON) -- In less than two weeks, the Bay Conservation and Development Commission will vote on the fate of the Oakland A’s. Today the BCDC put out their final staff report on if a stadium for the baseball team will be built at Howard Terminal.

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KRON 4’s Rob Nesbitt spoke one on one with Mayor Libby Schaaf about the report. In their final report, staff with the BCDC recommended that Howard Terminal be released from Port Priority Use so that a new ballpark can be built there. They’ll have a final vote on June 30^th.

If the BCDC approves, then the planning process continues for the A’s to move to Howard Terminal, but if it’s a no then the project is over according to Mayor Libby Schaaf. She’s confident that the commission will give the green light since the project isn’t just about baseball, “A 400 room hotel, a new performing arts center and 3,000 units of housing and the parks,” she said.  

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Schaaf says 1,000 of those units will be dedicated to affordable housing. A’s president Dave Kaval agreed to have 15% of the housing on site be affordable, in exchange for tax money generated–a term that the city rejected.

“They put out a proposal that does not work for us, but we will be giving them an alternative idea very soon,” Schaaf said. She says the ballpark itself at Howard Terminal will cost around $1 Billion Dollars to build and will be paid for by the A’s. She’s heard estimates of around $12 Billion for the entire project.

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“It’s hard to put a price tag on a whole new neighborhood,” Schaaf said. If approved by BCDC, the next key vote will be July 5^th when City Council members will decide if an advisory measure will be on the ballot in November, letting the voters decide where the A’s play ball.

According to the Port of Oakland, it’s been nearly a decade since a tenant occupied Howard Terminal. Schaaf says this is better, “This is land that people should enjoy, that should also support jobs and affordable housing and that’s what this project will do.”

Mayor Schaaf was just in Washington, D.C. to advocate for a $183 million infrastructure grant that will help Oakland with Waterfront Improvements, including improvements that would be made at Howard Terminal.

from KRON4 https://ift.tt/Ebx9YLH