North Bay / Delta

Antioch– a Coastal City With a Vision

Published: April, 2001

So much a part of the history of Contra Costa County, its Delta cities also have an influence today and will tomorrow. While there is little room left in Central County, space is available and affordable for industrial, commercial and residential development in East Contra Costa County.

As new business comes, so does a growing population of professional and skilled workers. Rehabilitation and redevelopment have occurred and continue to be part of an ongoing plan to make the area even more attractive to one and all.

Antioch, the oldest city in Contra Costa County, is located on the south shore of the San Joaquin River, near the confluence of the Sacramento and San Joaquin rivers as they enter Suisun Bay. Its location on the water contributed to its success. More than two dozen vessels were completed at the former Fulton Shipyards during World War II for the U.S. Navy, and more than the 100 years earlier, the town could boast of a lumber company, grain warehouses, coppery smelter and distillery, among other businesses located along the bustling waterfront.

As the city grew, the residential and commercial centers moved away from downtown and toward the hills. However, the city also recognized the value that it the downtown and its riverfront orientation offered.

Ten years ago, the city, with financial and staff support from the State Coastal Conservancy, undertook the preparation of the Urban Waterfront Restoration Plan. The Coastal Conservancy is an independent multipurpose agency that funds projects along the California coast and San Francisco Bay. The Conservancy’s urban waterfront program includes achieving important coastal development and conservation goals, expansion of opportunities and facilities for public access and recreation in urban waterfront areas, as well as the protection, restoration and expansion of coastal-dependent activities and facilities.

In February, 1999, a Blue Ribbon Task Force, comprised of a broad spectrum of water-oriented interests, created the Bay Area Water Transit Initiative, a study to determine the feasibility of ferry service expansion. Antioch and Pittsburg, its neighbor to the west, were selected as cities that could potentially see ferry service in their future.

"We’re trying to encourage development in the waterfront and downtown area," said Eli A. Naffah, Antioch’s economic development director. "One of the highlights of the waterfront plan is to create a pier with restaurants and shops."

Is the city interested in the possibility of ferries docking there?

"We are enthusiastic about the idea and would support the concept of a ferry dock at the pier," Naffah.

Antioch residents who are employed in Central County, Oakland or San Francisco face snarled commutes on Highway 4.

"Although efforts are being made to widen Route 4 and expand BART and e-BART, the situation is not resolved yet," said Bill Gegg, assistant to Antioch’s city manager. "We’re always looking for alternative transit solutions.

"There is a temporary slip at the pier at which a ferry could dock," Gegg added.

"Looking at Antioch being similar to Larkspur Landing, it would certainly be a boon for our waterfront and downtown," said Antioch City Council Member Arne Simonsen, who was recently appointed to the Water Transit Authority committee that will further study the issue.

Antioch’s plan presents a new, sharply focused vision for the waterfront and its physical and economic relationship to downtown.

The plan calls for the creation of a new configuration and structure for the waterfront that provides for commercial, cultural and public recreational uses directly related to the river and compatible with the uses extant in downtown.

There are also plans for improved public access from downtown to the river and the reestablishment of the waterfront as the visual focal point and identity of downtown. What is sought is a design that unifies the waterfront and downtown with a cohesive sense of place that enhances the preservation and reconstruction and improvements to the downtown. The plan also calls for provision of a broad range of commercial, employment, cultural and recreational opportunities for residents and visitors.

The marina has already been improved and enlarged is the site of a large restaurant named after a wayward whale whose sojourn into and out of the area captured the public’s attention for weeks a number of years ago. There is a full pier and the promenade is being expanded from the restaurant to Rogers Point, a wildlife sanctuary. Residential development (condominiums and townhouses) toward is planned for the west.

As part of its master development plan, the city now has about 10-square blocks in Rivertown East where low to moderate housing will be built. Over a period of years, the city purchased the lots, razed dilapidated and deteriorating buildings and leveled the sites.

The city and its waterfront are poised for revitalization and ferries could be an important component of that process.
 

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