Richmond City Council announces deal to sell Point Molate land to East Bay Regional Park District
This story was updated at 7:35 p.m., July 11, 2024
The Richmond City Council will hold a special meeting on Friday to enter into an agreement with the Guidiville Rancheria of California to sell 81.56 acres, including the historic Winehaven property, to the East Bay Regional Park District.
The council will vote on a letter of intent, which is a precursor to an agreement transferring the property to the park district. According to District 5 Councilmember Gayle McLaughlin, EBRPD will pay $40 million, which is under the appraised value.
McLaughlin wrote that after approval from the California Coastal Conservancy Commission in September, the transaction is expected to close by the end of the year.
The city will waive its 50 percent share of the sale proceeds as part of the agreement, so the Guidiville Rancheria will receive the entire price.
State actions increased the likelihood of the park district acquiring the property, with $36 million set aside in the budget for acquisition and development under Senator Nancy Skinner’s SB 179.
The park district will acquire the property as-is and be responsible for ongoing environmental remediation. According to the staff report, the state required an independent appraisal to support the negotiated purchase price.
The appraisal, including the Winehaven parcels, came in at more than $50 million. With this value, the park district and tribe reached a price of $40 million for the 80 acres. The park district added $4 million to the $36 million state grant.
“No longer having this responsibility will allow the city to shift its focus onto other pressing needs of the city and community,” McLaughlin said.
During the first year, the city will retain responsibility for maintaining and securing the property, with a maximum expenditure of $400,000. Subsequently, EBRPD will assume all maintenance and security activities.
“This will save the city millions of dollars of ongoing expenses to upkeep the property,” McLaughlin wrote. “The city has been spending up to $1 million annually on maintenance and security, including environmental remediation, at Pt. Molate.”
According to a staff report, the park district will work with the city on equity outreach and planning, involving Richmond residents and informing the city’s official bodies of key milestones. McLaughlin said a plan for the remaining 70 percent of undeveloped open space owned by Richmond will come later.
Former mayor Tom Butt who formed the nonprofit Winehaven Trust in a bid to save historic Winehaven structures at Point Molate, said the RPA-controlled City Council is very proud of what they have accomplished.
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Butt said the deal would deprive Richmond’s General Fund of the city’s $20 million share of the sales price.
“Point Molate remains off limits indefinitely to the public except for the beach park,” Butt said. “The city will not recover over $10 million in legal, maintenance, and security costs, and future litigation will expose the city to over $100 million in claims.”
Butt said there is no plan, schedule, or funding for improvements required to open up Point Molate as a park and no plan or funding to save Winehaven.
However, McLaughlin said Butt doesn't know the facts. McLaughlin said the park district is indemnifying the city and handling all the remediation costs, so there is no legal risk to the city.
"You have to realize that he doesn't know what's going on when he says 100 million in litigation costs," McLaughlin told Grandview after this story was initially published.
The Sierra Club, SPRAWLDEF, Citizens for Eastshore Parks, and the Point Molate Alliance filed a lawsuit against the city, alleging that the city failed to conduct an adequate environmental review of the proposed housing development at Point Molate.
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The California Courts of Appeal ruled last year that the project's environmental impact report failed to consider tribal cultural resources, emergency evacuation impacts, and wildfire risks.
The California Wine Association relocated its operations to Point Molate following the 1906 San Francisco earthquake. It began constructing Winehaven, a winery, and a town. With 400 workers and all the California Wine Association’s shipments of about 500,000 gallons a month shipping from Winehaven’s dock, it quickly became once held the title of “world’s largest winery.” Prohibition shut down the winery in 1919, and the company sold its assets to avoid bankruptcy. Winehaven sat unused from 1920 until the late 1930s.
The Navy bought the 412-acre site in 1941, settling into the winery buildings and constructing 20 large concrete tanks on the hillsides above for a fuel depot. Thousands of fuel drums were stored in huge buildings, pipelines were laid, a new pier was built, and the old one was eventually removed. The old Winehaven Hotel was pressed into service as barracks and mess hall, and the workers’ houses were renovated to use naval personnel.
Throughout the years, proposed projects for the site have included a casino proposed in 2004 and a mixed-use community comprising open space, adaptive reuse of the historic cottages and Winehaven buildings, and 1,260 newly constructed residential units.
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