US Navy Transfers Treasure Island

An undated aerial photo of Treasure Island, purchased by the US Navy in 1942 for $1.
Photo by Luke Thomas

By Luke Thomas

December 17, 2009

The US Navy in 1942 seized Treasure Island from the City and County of San Francisco for the princely sum of $1.  Yesterday, Mayor Gavin Newsom announced the purchase of Treasure Island from the US Navy for $105 million.

“This agreement is good for the American tax payer, will create jobs in the San Francisco region and will effectively transition Treasure Island to productive civilian reuse,” noted US Navy Secretary Ray Mabus.

As Steven Jones notes in the San Francisco Bay Guardian, project developers Lennar, Inc. and Darius Anderson, who plan to build housing and hotels on the island, will foot the Navy’s transfer fee.

But the deal raises one glaring question:  While the City and County of San Francisco faces an unprecedented $600 million combined budget deficit in the current and next fiscal year, why didn’t the Newsom administration demand the US Navy transfer the island back to the City for the sum it paid in 1942?

FCJ posed this question to Newsom’s Economic Development Director, Michael Cohen, the principle negotiator in the transfer deal. Here’s what he had to say:

“When the Navy condemned Treasure Island back in the 1940s, they gave the City all the land – a thousand acres – for San Francisco International Airport.

“In the base closure community, nationally, there have been false arguments made that closed bases should transfer across the country for no consideration, but those efforts have never been successful.

“Let me be clear on this, this is a great deal for San Francisco, and this is a deal which base closure communities across the country will look at with great optimism.”

Economic and Workforce Development Director Michael Cohen.

More Info

Mayor Newsom and U.S. Secretary of Navy Announce Agreement
to Transfer Treasure Island to San Francisco

SAN FRANCISCO, CA – Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus and San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom announced today that they had reached a broad outline of terms for the conveyance of former Naval Station Treasure Island from the Navy to the City’s Treasure Island Development Authority. The terms of the agreement include a guaranteed payment to the Navy of $55M followed by an interim payment of another $50M, plus an additional share of potential further profits. The agreement also requires the inclusion of transactional protections customary in the private sector for these types of transactions. Specifics of the deal will be worked out as quickly as possible.

“This agreement is good for the American tax payer, will create jobs in the San Francisco region and will effectively transition Treasure Island to productive civilian reuse,” noted Secretary Mabus. Mayor Newsom expressed optimism that “having the terms of this conceptual agreement with the Navy in place will allow us to finalize our development plans and generate badly needed jobs in this difficult economic climate.” “Now that we know the basic terms of the Navy deal” Mayor Newsom continued “we can finally begin the hard work of making sure the City’s grand vision for Treasure Island can be realized.”

The City’s redevelopment plans for Treasure Island, widely heralded as one of the most environmentally sustainable development plans in US history, contemplate a mixed-use development containing a new commercial town center and neighborhood, 3 hotels and hundreds of acres of parks and open space and will generate thousands of construction jobs annually for the 10-20 year life of the project and 3,000 permanent jobs.

Luke Thomas

Luke Thomas is a former software developer and computer consultant who proudly hails from London, England. In 2001, Thomas took a yearlong sabbatical to travel and develop a photographic portfolio. Upon his return to the US, Thomas studied photojournalism to pursue a career in journalism. In 2004, Thomas worked for several neighborhood newspapers in San Francisco before accepting a partnership agreement with the SanFranciscoSentinel.com, a news website formerly covering local, state and national politics. In September 2006, Thomas launched FogCityJournal.com. The BBC, CNN, ABC, NBC, CBS, Fox News, New York Times, Der Spiegel, San Francisco Chronicle, San Francisco Magazine, 7x7, San Francisco Examiner, San Francisco Bay Guardian and the San Francisco Weekly, among other publications and news outlets, have published his work. Thomas is a member of the Freelance Unit of the Pacific Media Workers Guild, TNG-CWA Local 39521 and is a member of the Society of Professional Journalists.

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