California is one step closer to advancing a new public waterfront park development, following the Trust for Public Land’s (TPL) acquisition of a 161-acre tract of land in East Bay.
TPL, a national conservation nonprofit, has secured an option agreement to acquire the former Golden Gate Fields horse racing property on the Albany-Berkeley border for $175 million. The trust plans to transfer the site to the East Bay Regional Park District (EBRPD) and convert it into a waterfront public park along San Francisco Bay.
TPL announced the agreement on March 31 after negotiating with the property’s owner. The option agreement gives TPL until the end of 2026 to raise the full purchase price, with the deal expected to close in early 2027.
As part of the agreement, the property owner is responsible for demolishing all existing structures on the property, including grandstands with seating for roughly 8,000 spectators, stable facilities for approximately 1,420 horses and parking for more than 8,500 vehicles. TSG has not disclosed details on contractors or a demolition timeline.
Golden Gate Fields opened in 1941 and operated as a thoroughbred horse racing venue for 83 years before hosting its final race on June 9, 2024. TSG announced the closure in July 2023, citing a decision to consolidate its California racing operations at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia.
EBRPD has committed $20 million toward the purchase, drawing from a 2008 Alameda and Contra Costa counties bond measure. TPL officials said the organization will pursue additional funding through a combination of state grants and private philanthropy.
Officials have also pointed to Proposition 4, a $10 billion climate bond measure California voters approved in 2024, as a potential funding source for the acquisition. TPL said it is approaching state agencies with interests in bay restoration and biodiversity.
The property spans about 161 acres along the San Francisco Bay shoreline, straddling the Albany-Berkeley city line just west of Interstate 80. The majority of the acreage sits within Albany, while roughly 40 acres fall within Berkeley’s city limits.
The site includes about one mile of bayfront land and is adjacent to several existing public open spaces, including Albany Beach, the Albany Bulb, the Tom Bates Regional Sports Complex and McLaughlin Eastshore State Park.
If completed, officials say the acquisition would fill a missing segment in the 8.5-mile McLaughlin Eastshore State Park corridor, which stretches from the foot of the Bay Bridge to the Brooks Island Regional Preserve near the Richmond waterfront.
Once TPL completes the acquisition and transfers ownership to EBRPD, the park district plans to launch a public engagement process to determine what amenities and features the park will include. TPL’s California state director, Guillermo Rodriguez, estimated the community planning and construction process could take about five years before the park opens to the public.
Future park development work, including environmental remediation, shoreline restoration, habitat reconstruction and recreational facility construction, will be managed through EBRPD, which oversees 73 parks spanning approximately 126,800 acres across Alameda and Contra Costa counties.
Photo by Paul, CC BY 2.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0, from Wikimedia Commons
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