News

Progress at LBNL’s Richmond Facility

Published

11 years ago

July 5, 2013

Oakland Post

Artist’s rendering of the state-of-the-art campus of Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory’s Richmond facility.

Judith Morgan

By For Richmond Staff

With its state-of-the-art campus, bike paths leading to the Bay Trail, lecture forums and welcoming cafes, the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory’s Richmond development is shaping up to be a boon for the city.
And the For Richmond coalition has thrown its full support behind the project: Not only will it create jobs for residents, but it will also encourage development of other clean technologies and businesses and draw more people and revenue dollars to Richmond.
“We’re all very excited because we are expecting this significant project to draw all kinds of new businesses to Richmond, which means more jobs for residents who need them,” said Judith Morgan, President and CEO of the Richmond Chamber of Commerce and a For Richmond steering committee member.
Coalition members are thrilled to see plans for the project moving forward – despite possible delays due to federal budget cuts. At a recent community meeting at Richmond City Hall, UC Berkeley and LBNL representatives told a group of about 100 community members that project plans are in the approval process, and they described how they see the area unfolding over time.
Graham Fleming, vice chancellor of research of UC Berkeley, described the plan for Richmond as “synergistic,” with UC Berkeley, LBNL and private developers all eventually building in the West Richmond area along the coast.
“It will take decades for the full vision to be realized, but it’s good to have a big picture in mind,” said Glenn Kubiak, chief operating officer for Berkeley Lab.
That big picture is both ambitious and impressive.
“We intend this to be a premier research hub. This can only be good for the Bay Area, only be good for Richmond and is good for all of us around the world,” said Barbara Maloney, a partner with BMS Design Group, which is overseeing the design plans. “This can become a real center of research. There’s plenty of land for other research companies to establish themselves nearby.”
The campus is already taking shape on the drawing boards with building placement, parking structures, trails and protected open space all outlined for the site.
Because the area has sensitive grasslands that need to be protected, there will be 25 acres of natural open space with minimal human access. The remaining 108 acres will be developed into research facilities, educational facilities, parking, food courts and open areas.
Parking lots will be placed on the outer edges of the property, most off the main road into the site. As a result, the center of the property will remain mostly car-free but bisected by Regatta Boulevard. The area will have walkways connecting four office clusters, or “neighborhoods,” with several open areas for socializing and eating.
The first of the four campus corridors will be developed along South 47th Street, near the Bay Trail, giving the community parking and access to the trail as soon as possible. The first phase is expected to be up to 600,000 square feet and house 1,300 people.
As more employees start working out of the new development, transportation solutions will be provided, including shuttle service linking the Richmond campus to the local BART stations and UC Berkeley, and possible ferry service linking Richmond to the Bay Area.
For Willie Hicks, the For Richmond jobs chair and the president and business representative for Laborers Local 324 in Richmond, all of these new plans mean one thing: jobs, jobs and more jobs for Richmond residents in need of work.
“Projects like this are fantastic because they attract other projects and businesses that put our workforce back to work,” Hicks said.
Morgan echoed that sentiment, adding that LBNL has made a commitment to support locally-owned small businesses, meaning that local restaurants, dry cleaners and drug stores, among others, will all benefit.
“This project is a win for this community many times over,” she said.
To find out more about the project, visit http://richmondbaycampus.lbl.gov/

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Oakland Post: Week of December 25 – 31, 2024

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of December 25 – 31, 2024

Published

6 hours ago

December 26, 2024

Oakland Post

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Bay Area

Glydways Breaking Ground on 14-Acre Demonstration Facility at Hilltop Mall

Glydways has been testing its technology at CCTA’s GoMentum Station in Concord for several years. The company plans to install an ambitious 28-mile Autonomous Transit Network in East Contra Costa County. The new Richmond facility will be strategically positioned near that project, according to Glydways.

Published

2 days ago

December 24, 2024

Oakland Post

Image of planned Richmond facility courtesy of Glydways.

The Richmond Standard

Glydways, developer of microtransit systems using autonomous, small-scale vehicles, is breaking ground on a 14-acre Development and Demonstration Facility at the former Hilltop Mall property in Richmond, the Contra Costa Transportation Authority (CCTA) reported on social media.

Glydways, which released a statement announcing the project Monday, is using the site while the mall property undergoes a larger redevelopment.

“In the interim, Glydways will use a portion of the property to showcase its technology and conduct safety and reliability testing,” the company said.

The new Richmond development hub will include “over a mile of dedicated test track, enabling Glydways to refine its solutions in a controlled environment while simulating real-world conditions,” the company said.

Visitors to the facility will be able to experience on-demand travel, explore the control center and visit a showroom featuring virtual reality demonstrations of Glydways projects worldwide.

The hub will also house a 13,000-square-foot maintenance and storage facility to service the growing fleet of Glydcars.

“With this new facility [at the former Hilltop Mall property], we’re giving the public a glimpse of the future, where people can experience ultra-quiet, on-demand transit—just like hailing a rideshare, but with the reliability and affordability of public transit,” said Tim Haile, executive director of CCTA.

Janet Galvez, vice president and investment officer at Prologis, owner of the Hilltop Mall property, said her company is “thrilled” to provide space for Glydways and is continuing to work with the city on future redevelopment plans for the broader mall property.

Richmond City Manager Shasa Curl added that Glydways’ presence “will not only help test new transit solutions but also activate the former Mall site while preparation and finalization of the Hilltop Horizon Specific Plan is underway.

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Alameda County

Last City Council Meeting of the Year Ends on Sour Note with Big Budget Cuts

In a five to one vote, with Councilmembers Carroll Fife and Janani Ramachandran excused, the council passed a plan aimed at balancing the $130 million deficit the city is facing. Noel Gallo voted against the plan, previously citing concerns over public safety cuts, while Nikki Fortunato-Bas, Treva Reid, Rebecca Kaplan, Kevin Jenkins, and Dan Kalb voted in agreement with the plan.

Published

3 days ago

December 24, 2024

Oakland Post

Oakland City Council voted on a plan to balance the $130 million deficit at their last regular meeting of 2024. The plan reduces police spending by $25 million, temporarily closes two fire stations, and guts the cultural arts programs. iStock photo.

By Magaly Muñoz

In the last lengthy Tuesday meeting of the Oakland City Council for 2024, residents expressed strong opposition to the much needed budget cuts before a change in leadership was finalized with the certification of election results.

Oakland police and fire departments, the ambassador program, and city arts and culture will all see significant cuts over the course of two phases.

Phase 1 will eliminate two police academies, brown out two fire stations, eliminate the ambassador program, and reduce police overtime by nearly $25 million. These, with several other cuts across departments, aim to save the city $60 million. In addition, the council simultaneously approved to transfer restricted funds into its general purpose fund, amounting to over $40 million.

Phase 2 includes additional fire station brownouts and the elimination of 91 jobs, aiming to recover almost $16 million in order to balance the rest of the budget.

Several organizations and residents spoke out at the meeting in hopes of swaying the council to not make cuts to their programs.

East Oakland Senior Center volunteers and members, and homeless advocates, filled the plaza just outside of City Hall with rallies to show their disapproval of the new budget plan. Senior residents told the council to “remember that you’ll get old too” and that disturbing their resources will only bring problems for an already struggling community.

While city staff announced that there would not be complete cuts to senior center facilities, there would be significant reductions to staff and possibly inter-program services down the line.

Exiting council member and interim mayor Bas told the public that she is still hopeful that the one-time $125 million Coliseum sale deal will proceed in the near future so that the city would not have to continue with drastic cuts. The deal was intended to save the city for fiscal year 2024-25, but a hold up at the county level has paused any progress and therefore millions of dollars in funds Oakland desperately needs.

The Coliseum sale has been a contentious one. Residents and city leaders were originally against using the deal as a way to balance the budget, citing doubts about the sellers, the African American Sports and Entertainment Group’s (AASEG), ability to complete the deal. Council members Reid, Ramachandran, and Gallo have called several emergency meetings to understand where the first installments of the sale are, with little to no answers.

Bas added that as the new Alameda County Supervisor for D5, a position she starts in a few weeks, she will do everything in her power to push the Coliseum sale along.

The city is also considering a sales tax measure to put on the special election ballot on April 15, 2025, which will also serve as an election to fill the now vacant D2 and mayor positions. The tax increase would raise approximately $29 million annually for Oakland, allowing the city to gain much-needed revenue for the next two-year budget.

The council will discuss the possible sales tax measure on January 9.