The 412-acre former Point Molate Naval Fuel Depot (NFD) contains about 276 acres of land above high tide elevation. Located on Richmond’s shoreline about a mile north of the Richmond/San Rafael Bridge, this unique site contains:

• 1.5 miles of shoreline closed to public access with the exception of the City’s Point Molate Beach Park
• A 400 foot high ridge line with sweeping views of two bays, Victorian East Brother Light Station, Mount Tamalpais and Mount Saint Helena
• A 1,400 foot long former U.S. Navy pier providing deep water access
• The 47-acre Winehaven Historic District with a Rhineland-style “castle” that was part of the largest winery in the world prior to Prohibition
• Extensive intertidal eelgrass beds and
• Rare coastal terrace prairie and coastal bluff native plant communities.

1908 to 2010 – Winehaven & naval fuel depot point molate

 A series of articles published by Bay Crossings provides an excellent summary of Point Molate’s unique, colorful history. 

After the 1906 earthquake left San Francisco in ruins, the California Wine Association moved to Point Molate and began construction of Winehaven, once holder of the prestigious title, “world’s largest winery.” Grapes were shipped in by rail and sailing scows for crushing and fermentation on site. At the peak of the season as many as 400 workers lived here. Shipments to foreign, coastal and New York markets sailed from the Winehaven dock. Capacity was 500,000 gallons a month, and 40 sailing ships departed annually for New York alone. With the advent of prohibition in 1919, Winehaven went mostly unused from about 1920 until the late 1930s.

The U.S. Navy acquired the 412-acre site after Pearl Harbor in 1941, moved into the winery buildings, and constructed 21 large concrete tanks on the hillsides above for a fuel depot. Pipelines were laid, a new pier was built with the old one removed and thousands of drums of fuel were stored in buildings and outdoor lots. The Winehaven area was once more alive and bustling with ships and men. The old Winehaven Hotel was pressed into service for a period as barracks and mess hall, and the winery workers’ houses were renovated for the use of naval personnel. The Commanding Officer of the Naval Fuel Depot was assigned the largest house on the bluff overlooking the others, which previously had been the home of the winery superintendent.

Despite the switch from wine to fuel, the historic district remains virtually unaltered from its days as a winery. There are 35 buildings in the National Register Historic District built between 1907 and 1919, the most notable being the castle-like Winehaven Building adorned with crenellated parapet and corner turrets. Also within the district is the Winemaster’s House, which became the Commanding Officer’s residence, and the quaint Village of Point Molate, a row of turn-of-the-century cottages used to house Winehaven and then military families. The Navy continued to operate the fuel depot during the Korean War and Vietnam War until it was decommissioned in 1995 under the U.S. Department of Defense Base Realignment and Closure Act of 1990.

The Navy sold 218 acres of the property to the City of Richmond for one dollar in September 2003. Transfer of the remaining land was completed in March 2010 under an Early Transfer Cooperative Agreement under which the Navy provided the City with $28.5 million for a cleanup approach agreed upon by the parties and the Regional Water Quality Control Board. The cleanup has been largely completed, but monitoring for potential pollutants continues.

1997 to 2025 – REUSE PLAN, DEVELOPMENT PROPOSALS & LAND OWNERSHIP

In 1997, the Richmond City Council acting as the Local Reuse Authority approved the Point Molate Reuse Plan prepared by the City’s Blue Ribbon Advisory Committee. The plan was approved by the Navy prior to transfer of land to the City in 2003 as required by the Defense Base Closure and Realignment Act as a guide to “reuse the property under an economically viable and balanced reuse plan that creates jobs supports new businesses, balances development with environmental preservation, and integrates the new land uses with current plans for the Richmond community”. The plan calls for a mixed use development concept with 191 acres reserved for shoreline park and hillside open space lands as shown on the Conceptual Land Use Plan and Open Space Plan.

In November 2004, the City of Richmond entered into a Land Disposition Agreement with Upstream Point Molate LLC and the Guidiville Tribe of Pomo Indians to sell former Naval Fuel Depot Point Molate for $50 million. However, in 2011, the City Council and the Bureau of Indian Affairs rejected the proposed tribal gambling casino – resort hotel complex following certification of a Final Environmental Impact Report and federal EIS. The resulting litigation was settled in April 2018 under terms providing that the City would seek to approve land use entitlements for a project that would be generally consistent with the Reuse Plan, sell parcels by May 2022 and share the proceed 50/50 with the Tribe. Failing to do so would require the City to sell the developable 30% of the property to the Tribe for $400, so that the Tribe in turn could seek to sell this land for development and share the proceeds with the City.

In September 2020, the City Council approved entitlements for the Point Molate Mixed-Use  Project as proposed by SunCal’s Winehaven Legacy LLC. The approved Disposition and Development Agreement provided that the City would sell the developer about 80 acres of land representing about 30% of the 276 acres of dry land for $45 million. The remaining 70% (about 196 acres) would be retained by the City of Richmond as shoreline park and open space lands to be operated and maintained initially by the developer an then an association of home and business owners. However, Suncal was unable to close escrow by the May 21, 2022 deadline after the City Council refused to approve its proposed Community Facilities District. Suncal’s lawsuit against the City alleging damages resulting from breach of contract remains pending as of Sept. 1, 2025.

On August 29, 2022, the City sold the developable 82 acres of land to the Guidiville Tribe of Pomo Indians DBA as Point Molate Futures LLC for $400 as required by terms of the settlement agreement with Upstream Point Molate LLC and the Tribe. The map on the right shows the resulting pattern of land ownership.

On August 26, 2025, East Bay Regional Park District (EBRPD) announced that it had paid $40 million to acquire 82 acres of Point Molate land from Guidiville Rancheria for development of a Regional Shoreline park as envisioned by the District’s Master Plan. EBRPD Director Elizabeth Echols stated “This acquisition provides a rare opportunity to create a park on stunning bay front property and preserve its environmental importance and significant cultural history, including Native American sacred sites, a historic Chinese fishing village and Winehaven which was once known as the world’s largest winery … with a shared vision of creating a world-class park at Point Molate for current and future generations to enjoy.” The City of Richmond made the sale possible by agreeing to forgo having the Tribe pay it 50% of sale proceeds as required under the terms of its settlement agreement with the Tribe.

In order to create a “Regional Shoreline”, EBRPD must acquire fee title or another form of land tenure for the 70% of Point Molate owned by the City of Richmond, including the shoreline and Point Molate Beach Park, as shown on the map owned by Point Molate Futures LLC. Acquisition of rights to the City of Richmond’s former Terminal 4 lands at nearby Point San Pablo also would be appropriate, because the San Pablo Peninsula Open Space Study prepared by an LSA-led team with participation by the City of Richmond, EBRPD, California State Coastal Conservancy, Chevron, Muir Heritage Land Trust and TRAC recommends that the City’s Point San Pablo lands should be “developed for recreational use as the key to success of an open space plan for the Peninsula”.

Planning, funding and developing a new Regional Shoreline park will be a long process involving preparation and adoption of a Land Use Plan (LUP) and an EIR with extensive public input at every step along the way. It took EBRPD almost six years simply to amend the existing LUP for Miller/Knox Regional Shoreline in March, 2019. Six years later, the Priority project to construct the Bay Trail along the mile-long western shoreline languishes without funding for design or construction. That’s a total of 12 years and counting.

Planning and developing a Point Molate Regional Shoreline will be much more complex and expensive, especially with no water, electricity or other utilities on site. Renovation and productive reuse of the 47- acre Winehaven Historic District will be particularly challenging with its iconic “castle” sporting crenellated parapets with corner turrets and the charming village of 26 cottages built for married employees of the winery overlooked by the winery superintendent’s house. Winehaven Historic District Design Guidelines prepared for Suncal’s project provide an excellent reference document for the key features of the Historic District.

Fortunately, the San Francisco Bay Trail will allow public access to the shoreline of Point Molate by Fall 2026 … at least a decade before a Regional Shoreline can be planned, funded and developed. EBRPD and the City have partnered to complete 2.5 miles of Bay Trail along the shoreline between the Richmond-San Rafael Bridge Trail and Stenmark Drive at the northern border of the City’s Point Molate property. This includes 1.1 miles of shoreline trail on the easement donated by Chevron plus 1.4 miles on the City’s Point Molate property. Mobilization and site clearance are expected to start in late September 2025 with completion by Fall 2026. CLICK HERE for updates on this project.