Concord Naval Weapon Station Veterans Housing
Initiative Overview
The city of Concord & the master developer Brookfield Properties are in the planning phase, and are selecting sub developers for the different phases of the project. Veteran’s Accession House is working to make sure that a portion of the site is dedicated to low-income permanent and traditional housing for veterans during the first phase of the project.
Status
Planning / Pre-Construction
Stakeholders
City of Concord
Brookfield Properties
Veteran’s Accession House
Goals
Based on input from local veterans’ organizations and service providers, VAH is seeking support from the City of Concord to amend the final specific plan for the Concord Naval Weapons Station (CNWS) to include three acres of land for the development of a Veterans Village adjacent to existing land allocated for a Veterans Hall. VAH asks that land development at CNWS includes a concept of a Veterans Village. A Veteran Village would be a place where veterans could seek housing, reentry services, be supported while seeking occupational training, and education in the community, and receiving therapeutic employment as part of onsite opportunities. As a society, we agree that homelessness is pervasive and an unacceptable problem. California comprises 12.3 % of the Nation’s population, with 28 % of the country’s homeless; of those, approximately 25 % are veterans. It is estimated that approximately 55,000 veterans live in Contra Costa County, 5% of the county population, with the highest density of the County’s Veterans residing in the City of Concord.
To address veteran homelessness, and honor the history of CNWS, VAH asks that the Concord City Council designate three acres of land for development of permanent low-income, and program run interim housing. In addition, allocation of sufficient land would allow for the construction of a museum and Victory Garden. The City of Concord, in its control, and influence of the CNWS development, can influence and shape what could be a regional model for veterans housing, and reintegration services.
VAH is officed in Concord, has aided veterans for over nine years, contracted with the Department of Veterans Affairs to provide Housing and Legal Services, plus collaborates with VA funded service providers for emergency housing. Presently, VAH is funded through the City of Concord to provide interim housing for homeless veterans and is under agreement with Eden Housing to provide onsite, wraparound social services at a low-income housing project planned for Bay Point projected for 2029. VAH established the County’s first Veterans Employment and Resource Group, composed of many of the veterans’ support services programs in the County. For these reasons, VAH is recognized as a leader in the veteran’s service community.
Funding SOurce
The Veterans Accession House anticipates financing for project development via Notice of Funding Availability (NOFA) release through CALVET’s Veterans Housing and Homelessness Program (VHHP), recurring funding from Measure X, Measure 1, various County funding measures and the State Community Development Office’s Low Income Housing Development program and transit-oriented development funds to increase BART ridership. Other funding sources for a museum could be generated by contributions from the community, local government, the County, State, veterans’ organizations, local businesses and industry.
Several developers listed on the 2012 CNWS Land Use Development Agreement expressed interest in taking on the challenge to build the proposed Veterans Village. VAH asks that the City of Concord, through its influence over the final specific plan for site development at CNWS, support the concept of a Veterans Village. We ask that the project be supported as part of the first phase development plan and be centralized within a half mile radius of the North Concord BART station to qualify the project for transit-oriented housing development funding.