With barely an hour left to avoid a contempt of court hearing scheduled for 1:00 PM today, the City of Richmond deposited into escrow a quitclaim deed to Point Molate in favor of Transferee Point Molate Futures, LLC, a Delaware limited liability company managed by the Guidiville Rancheria of California, a federally recognized Indian Tribe. See Drama in Federal Court, June 24, 2022.

I reluctantly signed the deed for $400.00 that granted properties worth at least $45 million. There were 44 development parcels included, which breaks down to a little over $9.00 per parcel, perhaps the greatest real estate deal in Richmond history (for the purchasers)! It was the Richmond Progressive Alliance (RPA) city council members, McLaughlin, Martinez, Jimenez and Willis, who threw the people of Richmond under the bus by thwarting a sale to SunCal that would have brought $22.5 million to the City immediately and tens of million thereafter in taxes, plus jobs and economic activity.

The future of Point Molate, however, remains murky, with several dueling lawsuits that could tie it up for years. Wanting to at least move ahead with developing and managing the 70 percent open space, including a shoreline park, that was never intended to be developed, I placed an item on last week’s City Council agenda to begin the process of soliciting public agencies to manage and improve the open space for public use. Again the Richmond Progressive Alliance (RPA) city council members, McLaughlin, Martinez, Jimenez and Willis, shot it down by tabling it without debate. Point Molate remains largely fenced off and inaccessible to the public with the historic buildings of Winehaven continuing to deteriorate.

It is unclear what the RPA end game is for Point Molate. They have refused to answer the question.


Figure 1 - Mayor Butt signs deed to Point Molate for $400