MGO Host Fred Blackwell, Oakland Assistant City Administrator
Complimentary pizza and soft drinks
Massive change has been occurring at the former Oakland Army Base, and the scope of the development plans is breathtaking. The 330-acre base was closed in 1999, resulting in the loss of 7,000 jobs. Now, under a sweeping modernization and expansion plan, the former base is to become the Oakland Global Trade and Logistics Center (Oakland Global), transforming it into a world-class intermodal hub and an international gateway for transporting goods by seaport, railroad, and roadway. The project will speed the distribution of bulk commodities and cargo.
The development plans for the 158 acres of the northern portion of the base include: a 34-acre working waterfront; 96.7 acres redeveloped with approximately 979,620 square feet of logistics facilities, rapid deployment centers, and regional distribution centers; approximately 27.3 acres for up to 379,610 square feet of use for indoor recycling facilities and approximately 7 acres for truck parking; two new rail yards, each with 4,000-foot loading tracks and wide span electric powered rail mount cranes for container handling over each track group
August 2012, the California Transportation Commission (CTC) dedicated $242 million to the project, which will be matched by the City and Port of Oakland, the U.S. Department of Transportation, and developers — Prologis and California Capital Investment Group. Added together, the total funding currently dedicated to the project’s first of two phases is approximately $500 million – including a $15 million federal grant awarded in July.
(The preceding information was excerpted from the developer’s website, oaklandglobal.com)
The Metropolitan-Greater Oakland Democratic Club (MGO) is honored to have Fred Blackwell, City of Oakland’s Assistant City Administrator, as our guest speaker on January 16th. Mr. Blackwell is the City’s point person on Oakland Army Base redevelopment. He will discuss the plans and progress to date and how they will impact economic development and jobs for Oakland. Here is a partial excerpt of his biographical information from the City of Oakland website:
As Assistant City Administrator, Fred Blackwell has functional oversight external service department and customer service initiatives. An Oakland native, he holds more than 15 years of nationally recognized high-level leadership in the nonprofit and public sector and has a broad range of experience with development projects and community development.
Prior to his position in Oakland, Fred served as Executive Director of the San Francisco Redevelopment Agency (SFRA). During his time at the SFRA, he led large scale developments including military base reuse, infrastructure investments, commercial developments, affordable housing production, and open space projects.
Metropolitan Greater Oakland Democratic Club 