Background

We invite you to visit our photo gallery of the current state of Alameda Marina.  Redeveloping the property is the only mechanism to fund the more than $30 Million required to upgrade infrastructure at the Marina.

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  Underneath the expansive deck at the head of Pier 1, you can see that most of the wooden piles have completely rotted away. Though the original construction had the correct number of piles, perhaps one in five now remain, and those are in questionable condition.
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  Here, you can see the condition of the sea wall holding back the area under West Lot parking and boat hoists. The wall at the edge of the shore has completely deteriorated at the mean high water line, and the wooden pilings, meant to support the wall, are completely gone. Soon, the soil behind the wall will erode to the point where sinkholes will be created above, making the current location of the boat hoists untenable.
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  Here is another view of the same wall, this time showing the attachments where one of the missing piles used to be. At the base of this now useless wooden wall you can see the remains of the over 70 year-old sheet pile wall behind it. The sheet pile wall is constructed of interlocking steel panels driven into the seabed at the shore edge. At the high tide line, there is no structural steel remaining and, below the water line, they serve no structural purpose.
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  Another view of the same area showing where the deteriorated piles were cut off for safety many years ago, and showing the rotted-away wood wall and sheet pile wall. This is what is holding back the shore under the two-ton boat hoist. This soil has moved several inches over the last 20 years, causing the hoist to tilt nearly 4 degrees from the vertical, creating numerous problems with the mechanism.
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  Moving down this same wall toward Svendsen’s Boat Yard, the infrastructure of the marina water and electrical supplies are connected to it. They are contained in the pipes you see, running along the length of the wall. At the bottom of the wall, you can see how the water has washed away soil behind the wall, signaling the end of the useful life of the parking lot above.
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  Another view under the deck at the head of Pier 1. Here, you can clearly see the deteriorated pilings and failed seawall at the far back. Some of the wooden piles have been wrapped in plastic and had concrete poured in between the plastic and the pile to reinforce them. This temporary patch was done in the 1970s – some 40 years ago.
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  The walls are not the only failing members. Here you can see that a single beam has failed after taking on many times its designed weight due to the failure of the other pilings.
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  This is the condition of the retaining wall at the shoreline at East Pier. To the right of center there is old wood covering a ten-foot long gap in the wall. There is nothing holding the soil behind it back at this point. In addition, below center, there is another, even longer gap partially obscured by the rusted horizontal steel I-beams. Those I-beams, by the way, were meant to support and hold back the concrete pilings and wall behind. They have rusted completely through and now serve no purpose whatsoever.
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  Looking east, along the East Pier retaining wall, you can see where the failed sheet-pile wall ends and the concrete retaining wall begins. At the waterline you can see what remains of the two concrete piles that held up the original wall. All that remains now is a pile of concrete rubble, behind which the soil is eroding away.
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  At the far end of the property you can see what happens in the final phase of deterioration. The retaining wall and rip-rap rocks behind it have fallen over nearly into the estuary. Soil has eroded so much that the ground above it has fallen four feet forward. The shore above has been fenced off and is unsafe and thus, unusable.
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  Here, the concrete piles are still intact and the horizontal cross member is still in place, but the wall behind this has completely rotted away. The water is washing in behind the piles and sweeping away the soil behind them. The parking lot above is in desperate need of repair, or else it will also soon be unusable.
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  The steel sheet-pile wall at the head of Pier 6 has completely corroded away, as has the steel I-beam support (right of center). The horizontal wooden support has deteriorated and serves no purpose, and left of center the shore has completely washed away, exposing the rip-rap rocks behind.
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  Here you can see the useless sheet pile wall, propped up by now completely rusted through I-beam supports and the failed horizontal wooden support. The area of the parking lot at the edge of the shore is no longer able to support the weight of a car, hence parking there is restricted.
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  This is the retaining wall for the shore at Svendsen’s Boat Works. Notice the line of piles with no wall left in place. The pilings have deteriorated to the point where many have nothing at or below the water line, and the soil behind them is squeezing between the piles and falling into the estuary, undermining the parking lot above. The sailboat sitting on a cradle at the edge of this shoreline weighs approximately 18,000 lbs. and the lot above is in danger of falling into the estuary.
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  A large portion of the Alameda Marina’s waterfront property is currently dedicated to dry storage of boats, old cars, and dilapidated recreation vehicles. Of the significant portion of the land on Alameda Marina dedicated to storage, more than 80% of the people storing vehicles there are from outside Alameda. We believe there is a higher, better use for this waterfront property.
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  In our large dry storage facility, approximately 60% are boats, the rest are mainly recreation vehicles, trailers, hobby cars and other items. Of the boats stored, there are:

  • 178 total sailboats
  • 123 of which are in operable condition
  • 37% of which are in active use (used more than once in the last 2 years)
  • 66 boats, a little over a third, are in active use (maximum)

Reimagining Alameda Marina means balancing necessary development with maintaining the maritime heritage that we’re known for.

You can also learn more from our downloadable fact sheet.

View Fact Sheet