Costco Plans Major Development at Former Oakland Army Base Site

The City of Oakland is taking preliminary steps to bring a Costco Wholesale Corporation warehouse to the 22-acre North Gateway parcel at the former Oakland Army Base, a site long earmarked for redevelopment. On November 24, 2025, Councilmember Carroll Fife introduced a resolution authorizing the City Administrator to enter negotiations for an Exclusive Negotiating Agreement (ENA) with Costco and Deca Companies, LLC, a real estate investment firm.

The North Gateway site has a complicated development history. Initially acquired from the federal government in 2003, the property was subdivided for modern, integrated development under the 2000 Oakland Army Base Redevelopment Plan. Over the past two decades, multiple development efforts—including agreements with recycling firms CASS and California Waste Solutions—failed to materialize. The City also considered the site for temporary homelessness interventions, but deed restrictions prohibiting residential housing, coupled with the need for extensive toxic mitigation, made residential use unfeasible.

A portion of the property is currently leased for a temporary helistop for UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital Oakland, approved in December 2024 for a four-year term. City officials say potential long-term development will not conflict with this temporary use.

Costco’s interest in Oakland dates back to the early 2000s. Analysts note that a wholesale and general merchandise facility could create hundreds of local jobs, generate substantial new tax revenue, and provide affordable groceries in an area designated a USDA food desert. The retailer’s 100 million-plus cardholder base and the development experience of Deca Companies position the project as a potential economic anchor for West Oakland.

The current resolution also clarifies that the property is considered exempt surplus land under the California Surplus Land Act, due to legal restrictions preventing residential housing. Negotiations under the ENA are a preliminary step and do not constitute a binding commitment. Any formal development agreement will require subsequent City Council approval, along with findings to waive the competitive process under Oakland Municipal Code Chapter 2.42.

If successful, the initiative would mark a major step in revitalizing a site that has remained underutilized for nearly two decades, aligning with Oakland’s long-term economic development objectives.