When Golden Gate Fields formally closed two years ago, public details surrounding what the future held for The Stronach Group-owned property were scant to none. Over the past few months, however, a picture has gradually formed filling in that gap.The non-profit Trust for Public Land has the option to purchase the property for $175 million, with a plan to transfer the land to the East Bay Regional Park District to manage the process of transforming the Golden Gate property, the former jewel in the crown of Northern California racing, into a public park.“The East Shore State Park, otherwise known as the McLaughlin East Shore State Park, surrounds Golden Gate Fields. Golden Gate is smack in the middle of it,” said attorney Robert Cheasty, executive director of Citizens for East State Parks, a non-profit organization with a stated mission to create “a necklace of shoreline parks” from the Oakland Estuary to the Carquinez Strait.“And now what will happen is the middle piece of the puzzle for the East Shore State Park will be fulfilled,” Cheasty added, outlining his long-held vision for the coveted shoreline.The deal for the 161-acre property is reportedly expected to close early next year. It will be financed in large part by a $125-million set-aside in Gov. Gavin Newsom's proposed budget, from monies secured as part of Prop. 4 that passed in 2024.While Newsom signed off on the main 2026-2027 budget in June, the portion of the budget dealing with the state's Prop. 4 monies still needs to be finalized and inked. But Cheasty said he's confident the set-aside will remain in whatever's signed.“From every indication, the support for this has not changed. The governor hasn't changed his mind. The Senate and the Assembly are both in favor. So, this should sail through,” said Cheasty.As for the other $50 million, the East Bay Regional Park District has already committed $20 million from Measure WW, a local bond measure to expand local parks and open spaces.Cheasty said there's another roughly $25 million likely available from (currently undisclosed) sources that typically fund projects of this nature. The other $5 million will come from philanthropic sources, he said.As per the purchase option agreement, The Stronach Group will be responsible for removing all “existing above ground structures,” the East Bay Regional Park District explained in May.The cost of that, said Cheasty, will be “substantial,” even with the possibility of cost-recovery by “recapturing and reusing” the dismantled steel infrastructure.“We're not talking about bringing in some bulldozers and contractors and hauling away the thing in six months and calling it good. It's going to take a lot more than that,” said Cheasty. “And that's part of the reason for the price.”When asked, however, if the $175-million price tag was a steal for such a seemingly coveted stretch of real estate, Cheasty put it another way.“Some people are saying, 'why is it so expensive?' You know, it depends upon your point of view. It can't be developed. That's the reason why the price hasn't skyrocketed,” said Cheasty, pointing to measures passed in the cities of Albany and Berkeley (both of which Golden Gate straddles), requiring voter approval for redevelopments of this nature.“Any change whatsoever from the existing zoning [of recreational use for the track] and the general plan regarding the waterfront requires a vote,” he said. “That's anathema to any prospective developer because, after you've done all your negotiations and all your planning and sunk all this money into it, then you have to go to the voters with your proposal.”It's why, said Cheasty, prior attempts to redevelop even portions of the land fell through, like developer Rick Caruso's efforts in the early 2000s to build an outdoor mall and apartments on the property.“He came in and spent millions trying to get a proposal together. And my organization opposed it. We were outspent 100 to one, maybe 200 to one,” said Cheasty. “Anyway, point being, Caruso left town.”According to local reporting, the proposal has garnered some opposition from those concerned about the potential impacts on city coffers.In an Albany City analysis, Golden Gate Fields reportedly generates about $1.1 million in annual special revenues and about $700,000 annually for the Albany Unified School District.Cheasty downplayed these concerns, framing the $1.1 million against the city's entire operating budget, which he said is currently upwards of $50 million (the general fund budget alone is $33.5 million).“When you're trying to run a municipal budget, it's all important and people are respectful of that. But if you look at the history of every time the Albany voters have been asked to support the schools or to support the firefighters and their emergency services or to support sidewalk repair, how many voters see it as money well spent?” he asked. “We're willing to support this.”As for what the eventual park could look like, Cheasty left details purposefully vague.If the funding is secured and the deal is ultimately sealed, “there'll be a lengthy planning process,” said Cheasty.“But let's look at the bigger picture. What's likely to happen out there? Most likely, the infield will, as sea rises, become more of a rehabilitated marsh. And there'll be expansion of the ball fields,” said Cheasty, adding how hiking trails could also be incorporated into the plan.He also intimated there could be an “interpretive center,” immortalizing a racetrack that has perched upon the East Bay shoreline since 1941.“Who was it, Russell Baze, who recorded his 10,000th winner at Golden Gate?” said Cheasty, about the idea of some kind of Golden Gate Fields museum. “Enough people have suggested this as an idea, and I think racing will get its proper due and coverage for the role it played.”The post Golden Gate Fields Tapped for $175 Million Park Redevelopment, Shoreline Restoration appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.