One of the last major steps in AASEG’s now Sisyphean negotiations with Alameda County [ALCO] to finalize the purchase of the Oakland Coliseum site looked like it was just days away from being finalized last Thursday, according to Supervisors and an agendized City negotiator report back. But on Tuesday morning that optimism once again faded—County staff announced that the negotiations had failed to close since Thursday.
Optimism of Last Week
Last Thursday, according to Kimberly Gasaway, the Director of the General Services Agency, who leads the County's side of the negotiation, ALCO was waiting on only two elements “to finish negotiations”—a quitclaim deed [from the A’s/Fisher LLC] and a litigation release [from Communities for a Better Environment].
A quitclaim deed is the document by which the A’s LLC, Coliseum Way Partners [CWP], would relinquish their development agreement to the LLC run by AASEG and Loop Capital created to purchase the property, Oakland Acquisition Company [OAC]. A quit claim would obviously be the final evidence that CWP was satisfied that the purchasing development agreement had no objectionable requirements.
Communities for a Better Environment [CBE] sued the County in 2021 for allegedly not following the California Surplus Lands Act in its sale of the property share to the Oakland A’s—the suit has also delayed the finalization of the A’s acquisition of the property. Sources say that CBE is willing to drop the suit if AASEG, with its promise of deeply affordable housing on the site, closes the deal and takes over ownership. CBE's litigation release would be the last step in the process, but would only come during the escrow period. Thus, the Quitclaim Deed—a document CWP would provide if satisfied with the new terms on releasing the DA—is the penultimate step to complete the transaction. Gasaway said that the county expected receipt on return to negotiations Friday.
The mostly optimistic comments came after a long closed session meeting that lasted two hours. In her comments, last Thursday, Gasaway disclosed that during the meeting, negotiators had received new “direction” from the BOS, but didn’t elaborate further.
After the Thursday report back, Board President David Haubert averred that the parties were so close to closure that there would be news on Tuesday, after the already agendized closed session would take place.
"[the DA] is going to come back to us again on Tuesday, hopefully done and completed," Haubert said after the report back. Supervisor Nate Miley also expressed optimism about Tuesday, saying he thought the deal would come to "fruition" by then.
During public comment Thursday, a wide cross section of Oakland’s Black political, cultural and social network praised AASEG and their proposed deal, and what they described as a uniquely inclusionary process. Many expressed disappointment and frustration with the length of the process in the County, once expected to be a pro-forma exercise. See the original reporting thread here for public comments.
No Joy, Tuesday
Before Tuesday's report back, however, it was already clear that the deal had, in fact, not come to fruition. During Tuesday morning's public comment before the closed session meeting, John Jones III, a principal in AASEG, reiterated the appearance that the County had expedited the deal for Fisher, but was now stuck in the weeds with concerns about the deal when it came time to sell the land to a consortium with vast community support.
“When the A's made this deal with no public support—in fact, people were against it—it went through…it's kind of weird for us to be in a situation where we're being stalled out for reasons that are truly unknown,” Jones said.
Sources familiar with the negotiations note that the County has sought to increase requirements in the DA—not only of AASEG, but of the A’s with ongoing requirements after the sale is complete.
BOS Increasingly the Site of Frustrated Announcements
The BOS has for months been the locus point of optimism the deal is on the verge of closing, followed by weeks with no word again until the Supervisors agendize another informational report. In mid-January, after former Oakland City Council President Nikki Fortunato Bas took her seat at ALCO, the board passed a non-binding term sheet instructing the County Administrator to facilitate the deal—and to do so within 30 days. The BOS also passed a resolution stating a commitment to make the deal happen. But the deal didn’t coalesce within that time frame, prompting Thursday’s special meeting to update the public
Negotiations Continue, with Miley, Haubert Listening In
In a report back from yet another seemingly fruitless closed session, County Counsel Donna Ziegler revealed that the negotiators had met with the developer three times since Thursday and planned to meet every day going forward. County negotiating staff committed to allow Nate Miley and David Haubert to listen in on the negotiations, an apparent request of OAC.
"The County is committed to closing a deal on terms that are in the best interest of the county and community it serves. To that end, the board supports allowing Supervisors Halbert and Miley to sit in and listen to the negotiations."
It’s not clear how that will affect ongoing negotiations.
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