As Due Diligence Begins, Mare Island Gradually Comes to Life
In the near term, the development team will come up with a sustainable, viable program for Mare Island that is tailored to Vallejo’s location, culture and character, and updated for the 21st Century.
VALLEJO, CA—Mare Island has a rich history as the US Navy’s first shipyard on the West Coast. The shipyard operated from 1854 until it closed in 1996. At that time, the Navy worked with regulatory agencies to transfer property to the city of Vallejo and private developers.
From 1999 to 2019, Lennar Mare Island LLC worked with the city to redevelop a 650-acre portion of the former shipyard, adding more than 350 single-family homes to the site, and entitling another 1,050 single-family and multifamily units, along with about 7 million square feet of commercial space.
In November 2019, The Nimitz Group, a joint venture between Nashville investor Gaylon Lawrence Jr., Depiction Wines owner Sebastian Lane and Savage & Cooke Distillery-owner Dave Phinney, completed the acquisition of the former Mare Island Naval Shipyard and currently owns approximately 800 acres on the island.
In February 2020, The Nimitz Group selected Southern Land Company as master developer to assist with the long-term planning, development and management of the Mare Island community. The development will be made up of residential, retail, hospitality and civic projects.
Southern Land Company has now opened a regional office on Mare Island, allowing the company to hire the talent needed to expand operations in the Bay Area. With the immediate focus of staffing the Mare Island redevelopment team, the company launched its West Coast hiring efforts with the appointment of Thomas D’Alesandro as president of West Coast operations.
D’Alesandro specializes in the planning and development of large-scale master-planned communities in urban and suburban areas. He will manage all development efforts for Mare Island and continue to expand Southern Land Company’s West Coast portfolio.
D’Alesandro will focus on overseeing the concept, development, design and construction of future projects to transform Mare Island into an economic engine and destination for Vallejo, Solano County and the Bay Area. During the next few months, D’Alesandro and The Nimitz Group will work with the city to conduct due diligence and research to refine redevelopment plans, recruit and add to the project team, and conduct community outreach to gather input on redevelopment priorities.
“Mare Island’s natural beauty, rich history and highly attractive location on the San Francisco Bay combine to make it a compelling location for new residents and businesses,” D’Alesandro tells GlobeSt.com. “Southern Land Company’s strong commitment to quality placemaking across the nation positions it to be an effective steward of the island’s redevelopment.”
In the near term, the team will be working with the city to come up with a sustainable and viable program for Mare Island that is tailored to Vallejo’s location, culture and character, and updated for the 21st Century.
“We hope to work with the community to build a consensus-driven vision that balances the built and natural environments, organized so that people can live, work, play, learn, celebrate or just comfortably relax in the community,” D’Alesandro tells GlobeSt.com. “We want to make sure the neighborhoods and the offices all have a clear and natural connection back to the waterfront and landscapes, such as the Mare Island Shoreline Heritage Preserve. Ultimately, we aim to create a thriving and comfortable Mare Island community with a unique combination of businesses and residences, entertainment, hospitality and civic uses.”
D’Alesandro supervised large-scale destinations throughout his career, including portions of the development of Summerlin, NV, The Woodlands, TX, Columbia, MD and Reston, VA. These are four of the largest and most complex real estate enterprises in the United States.