Lennar Chosen To Develop At Concord Naval Station
The long and controversial fight to develop the Concord Naval Weapons Station is finally over. Lennar Urban has been unanimously selected as the master developer for the project by the City of Concord.
During an anticipated six to nine months of contract negotiations between Lennar and the city, the developer will start environmental work and draft a land-use plan, according to the East Bay Times.
The terms of the deal are slightly revised. Lennar increased its commitment to affordable housing to $40M and agreed to spend about $16M for roadway expansion. The builder also lowered Concord’s guaranteed payout to $20M over 10 years. Concord and Lennar have a profit-sharing agreement that kicks in once the developer hits a 20% return on investment. This could result in $23M in profits for the city.
The 500 acres have been subdivided into sections, and development will proceed in phases. Work will progress if Lennar satisfies Concord it is able to take on the next phase. The developer will share all financials with the city during the project to increase transparency.
The fight to develop the site left rival Catellus Development Corp deeply embittered. It accused Lennar of improperly lobbying for the contract. [EBT]
