Economics

Port of Oakland Gives Old Army Base New Life, Work Starts 2018

Published

8 years ago

December 8, 2017

A big chunk of this city’s decommissioned Army Base just got new life as Port of Oakland Commissioners approved a plan that re-invents the site as a Seaport Logistics Complex. Port officials called it a game-changer for global trade and transportation.

“There’s not anything like it on the U.S. West Coast,” said John Driscoll, the Port’s Maritime Director. “This Complex will make it faster and cheaper to import and export containerized goods internationally than ever before.”

The plan calls for Oak Brook, IL-based CenterPoint Properties to build a 440,000-square foot distribution center adjacent to the Port’s $100 million rail yard. It will be located across the street from marine terminals where container ships berth in Oakland. The new building and railyard are part of a plan to develop a 180-acre logistics campus on Port land. CenterPoint said work could begin in the first quarter of 2018.
CenterPoint officials said the project would distinguish Oakland on two counts: The distribution center would be the largest warehouse-style building at any U.S. West Coast port; and, it would be one of few nationally where cargo could be transloaded within a port’s footprint for transport by ship, truck or train. That’s how international shippers can expect to cut transportation costs while reducing shipment time.

John Driscolli

“This is a unique opportunity,” said CenterPoint Chief Development Officer Michael Murphy. “There are very few places in North America where we can develop a logistics facility of this size which will effectively accommodate the efficient movement and delivery of goods that are critical to the economic health of a city and provide meaningful jobs for area residents.”

The Port will lease property to CenterPoint, which will manage the facility. The land is the site of a former Army supply depot shuttered in 1999. The Port and City of Oakland each received 240-acre parcels from the closure.

The Port’s agreement with CenterPoint includes a jobs policy giving hiring priority to residents from the neighboring community.

Disadvantaged residents would receive special employment consideration. Community activists have hailed the agreement as a national model for equitable development and job creation that strengthens local communities.

Long-range planning for future developments at the Seaport Logistics Complex is still underway, the Port said. It gave no timetable for additional projects.

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California Launches Study on Mileage Tax to Potentially Replace Gas Tax as Republicans Push Back

Under current law, California depends heavily on revenue from the gas tax to fund roads, highways, and infrastructure, but those revenues are projected to shrink as electric vehicle use grows and overall gasoline consumption drops. The mileage study would look at a “road charge” system where drivers pay based on how many miles they drive, rather than how much gas they buy.

Published

6 days ago

February 10, 2026

Oakland Post

Assemblymember Lori Wilson (D-Suisun City is the author of AB 1421. File photo.

By Tanu Henry, California Black Media

California lawmakers are moving forward with a study to explore a mileage-based tax as a potential replacement for the state’s traditional gas tax — a shift supporters say is driven by declining fuel tax revenues as more drivers switch to fuel-efficient and electric vehicles.

The research, tied to Assembly Bill (AB) 1421, would extend and support work by the state’s Road Usage Charge Technical Advisory Committee through 2035.

The bill does not yet enact a new tax. Instead, it extends the study and advisory work until 2035 and would have the Legislature receive findings and recommendations, with a report due by Jan. 1, 2027.

Republicans in the California Legislature have been vocal in their opposition. Assembly Republican Leader Heath Flora criticized the proposal.

“We already pay the highest gas taxes in the nation. Now Sacramento is talking about adding a new tax for every mile people drive,” Flora said. “Piling on another tax right now shows just how out of touch politicians in Sacramento are with the reality working families face.”

The plan has drawn broader GOP criticism from leaders outside the Legislature as well. California Republican gubernatorial candidate Steve Hilton called a mileage fee “absolutely outrageous” and said, if elected, he would veto the tax, adding that tracking and charging drivers for every mile is unacceptable.

Supporters say the study is a pragmatic response to long-term funding challenges.

On the Assembly Floor on Jan. 29, Assemblymember Lori Wilson (D–Suisun City), the bill’s author, said that California’s transportation funding is “becoming less stable, less equitable, and less sustainable as more drivers switch to fuel-efficient and zero-emission vehicles.”

“Drivers using the same roads often pay different amounts for that use,” Wilson continued. “Low income and rural commuters who must drive farther and less efficient vehicles can pay more while others contribute less despite roadway impacts.”

Wilson and other supporters contend that a per-mile road charge could ensure that all drivers contribute fairly to the costs of maintaining roads, regardless of the type of vehicle they drive.