Overview
- The Concord City Council voted unanimously Tuesday night to approve a financial agreement with the U.S. Navy that allows developer Brookfield to move from negotiation to the entitlement stage and sets roughly $628 million in payments to the Navy over about 30 years.
- Planning documents call for about 12,272 homes with roughly 25% set as affordable housing, roughly 800 acres of parks, millions of square feet of commercial space and a five‑phase buildout spread over about 30 years.
- Major gating issues remain before any construction: the Navy must complete Superfund cleanup for soils contaminated with lead and arsenic, the Navy must sign off on the deal, and Brookfield faces a December 2029 deadline to secure entitlements.
- Labor and political history shaped the path to this vote because earlier developers left after union disputes in 2020 and a 2023 term sheet was rejected, and Brookfield has since reached labor agreements with building trades and carpenters unions.
- Local officials warn the project is unlikely to deliver homes in the current state housing cycle and faces second‑order risks from rising construction costs, transit uncertainty around the North Concord BART station, and the pace of Navy remediation and permitting.