The city and Port of Oakland have applied for a $40 million US Department of Transportation grant to help pay for the planned conversion of a former waterfront Army base into a trade and logistics center.
The port says the grant would supplement local, state and private investment to aid the launch the $438 million first phase of the redevelopment of the former Oakland Army Base, which closed in September 1999, 58 years after it was first commissioned.
“The project is competitive because it is intermodal – with rail, port, and road components; focused on exports through one of the nation’s top five trade gateways,” Port of Oakland Executive Director Omar Benjamin said. “(It) will help us create thousands of jobs in one of the most impacted regions in our country.”
The redevelopment would include construction of a new rail terminal on 40 acres of port property to enhance ship-to-rail connections and reduce truck traffic and emissions on local roads; and construction of new trade and logistics facilities for warehousing directly within the port.
The plans also include restoration of Oakland’s sole deepwater break-bulk terminal to increase exports; and infrastructure improvements, such as street and road enhancements.
Port of Oakland Commission President Pamela Calloway said the strategic initiative is “critical” to the port’s future.
“This project is one way we are going to reach our job creation goals while making sure the port is an engine for inclusive economic development,” she remarked.
Tuesday, November 22, 2011
