C to F Waterfront

Below is a description of the C to F Waterfront project. The City would like to hear your questions and comments. Please use the discussion tool below to engage

Project Description  

On October 18, 2022, Council adopted an amendment to the Housing Element that in part added the C to F Waterfront to Implementation Program IMP-34 to meet the City’s very-low income RHNA. The Site includes three contiguous parcels totaling approximately 2.7 acres between the Eureka Boardwalk and 1^st Street (to the north and south) and C and F Streets (to the west and east).

On April 4, 2023, Council authorized release of an affordable housing request for proposals (RFP) for the C to F Sites. The RFP called for a minimum of 95 affordable housing units at the Site as part of a mixed-use development with ground-floor commercial, civic and/or recreational uses (based on the Site’s zoning, residential units are only allowed on upper floors). Bonus points were offered for projects that: (1) retain at least 25% of the site as public open spaces; (2) include buildings with visitor-serving/public spaces not just on the ground floor, but also on the top floor; and (3) relate to and are congruent with adjacent buildings and sites, and are an extension of the existing development pattern of Old Town, while providing a sense of human scale and proportion. No responses to the initial RFP were received. 

As a result of the RFP release, an environmental site assessment was performed, and it was identified that the C to D Streets portion of the property is a Regional Water Quality Control Board (RWQCB) Cleanup Program Site with an open cleanup case. The case is associated with contamination from prior industrial uses in the site area including a former fish cannery and light manufacturing operations (Case #1NHU224). The City worked with the RWQCB to perform supplemental site investigation work in January 2024 and received a “case closure” letter from the RWQCB in June 2024, indicating that the site meets closure criteria and no further action related to prior contamination is required.

With the cleanup case closed, City Staff has been working to solicit interest from affordable housing developers as well as local colleges and has had some promising preliminary discussions about potential mixed-use development of the site.