ALAMEDA — The park district is looking at expanding Crab Cove Visitor Center — a place for biking and hiking, family picnics and where kids can marvel at an 800-gallon aquarium as they learn about the wonders of San Francisco Bay.
The East Bay Regional Park District, which runs the center, wants people to weigh in on how the additional land for the expansion should be used, as well as possible changes along the shoreline to adapt to climate change and anticipated sea-level rise.
The district acquired the 3.89 acres behind the visitor center at 1252 McKay Ave. in 2015 from the U.S. General Services Administration.
The parcel is mostly paved and currently fenced off. Previously, it was used for vehicle parking by workers in nearby federal offices that are now permanently closed.
“It’s actually pretty cool to think that people may actually get some more open space, especially along the bay. It’s prime real estate,” said Lorraine Lambe, 23, of Oakland, as she walked near the Crab Cove center, which is currently closed because of the pandemic, on a recent afternoon. “It’s good news, and I think we can all use some of that nowadays.”
Developing a master plan for the expansion, which will include landscaping and design suggestions, will take about a year, park district officials say. So far, no money has been allocated for the expansion.
“The park district is excited about expanding public access and improving amenities near Crab Cove at Crown Beach,” Ellen Corbett, who represents Alameda on the East Bay park district board, said in a statement. “I encourage Alameda residents to get involved in the planning process and share their input. We want to hear from you about what your priorities are for the project.”
The acres behind the building were the ground-zero of a ballot measure in April 2019, when Alameda voters were asked whether they supported rezoning a bordering federal building complex made up of offices just across the street from the visitor’s center, as open space.
Supporters of the measure said it would clear the way to expand Crab Cove and nearby Robert W. Crown Memorial State Beach even more.
Voters rejected the idea.
The East Bay park district was not interested in acquiring the offices, it said, and city of Alameda representatives said at the time that no money was available to tear down the 11 buildings at the complex across the street from Crab Cove and create a new public park.
The projected cost for that option was then $11.7 million.
The rezoning effort followed the federal government in September 2018 selecting the Alameda Point Collaborative, a nonprofit group that provides services to people who were once homeless, to take over the former federal offices and turn them into a wellness center.
The ongoing plans include creating a place where people who have been discharged from a hospital with lingering medical issues can convalesce and recover.
The approximately 90-office complex was originally part of a 100-acre facility developed in 1942 as a U.S. Maritime Officer Training School — and which the land for the current Crab Cove expansion was also part of.
Along with the future wellness center, the neighborhood near Alameda’s Webster Street business district includes buildings with condominiums and apartments on the west and north side of the center. San Francisco Bay borders the southern part of Crab Cove.
City Councilman Tony Daysog, who grew up in the neighborhood, welcomed the news that Crab Cove was getting a bigger footprint. The center officially opened on July 4, 1980.
“Wow, if the (park district) can include at the site programs and facilities that complement if not expand on the Crab Cove center already there, this will be a great attraction for Alameda’s west end, which could benefit nearby Webster Street businesses as well,” Daysog said via an email.
The master plan, which people can comment on, will be used as a guide to raise money for construction and how various options might cost, plus to develop a schedule for when the work will be carried out, according to park district officials.
The district purchased the spot behind Crab Cove for $2,182,500, according to Dave Mason, a district spokesman. Funds were available through Measure WW.
Voters in Alameda and Contra Costa counties approved Measure WW in November 2008. It provides $500 million in bonds to expand regional parks, as well as to preserve and protect open space.
The park district operates Crab Cove via agreements with California State Parks and the city of Alameda, and the size of Crab Cove, before the acquisition, was about 388 acres, Mason said. The East Bay district considers Crab Cove part of the overall Crown Beach parcel.
More information can be found at www.ebparks.org/McKayMasterPlan. People also can call 1-888-327-2757.