Alameda historic board approves certificate for Radium Theater after contested public comments

The Alameda Historical Advisory Board voted to approve a certificate of approval for the Radium Theater Performing Arts Center at Alameda Point after hearing staff analysis, the applicant’s revised design and public comment.

Planner Brian McGuire told the board the project has been several years in development and staff and the consultant Architectural Resource Group (ARG) found the design consistent with the Secretary of the Interior’s standards for rehabilitation and applicable infill guidelines. McGuire said the Alama Point EIR had anticipated redevelopment impacts and included mitigation measures, with some impacts identified as potentially significant and unavoidable when the EIR was adopted; the certificate-of-approval process and conformance with adopted guidelines are part of that mitigation framework.

The applicant team described design changes made in response to board feedback, including relocating the building footprint to preserve a 40-foot view corridor centered on Building 77 (the Naval Air Museum), pulling planters away from the museum-facing plaza and adding a north–south connector roadway to improve circulation. Michael, the design lead, said the main auditorium roof would be about 50 feet, flanking areas about 43 feet and the fly tower up to 70 feet, and that materials and fenestration were chosen to reference the base’s streamline-modern hangars.

Members of the public were sharply divided. Supporters, including Tara Pilro of the West End Arts District and local residents, called the theater a potential cultural catalyst that would bring artists, audiences and economic life to the waterfront. “I strongly believe that this project has the power to transform the arts ecosystem of Alama,” Pilro told the board. Architect and Radium board member Ben Mikas said moving the theater west created about a quarter acre of additional public open space and preserved view corridors.

Other commenters urged caution and legal compliance. Todd Hickman said the application appears to “circumvent SQA” and urged the board to follow state and local law; another commenter, Shelby She, submitted a multi-page written brief and argued the project “degrades this historic district,” stating she believed the proposal required further environmental review and an alternatives analysis.

During questioning, staff and the applicant addressed interim parking, phasing and sea-level-elevation design choices. McGuire explained an interim surface parking concept on the taxiway is expected as a phased approach and that final parking configuration will be part of later design-review and tentative-parcel mapping phases. The team said they raised the site to address flood elevations and designed ramps and steps so stormwater would not be directed at the Naval Air Museum’s façade.

After member discussion, the board moved to approve the certificate with a recommended change to the draft resolution’s language to acknowledge the project reduces visibility of Building 77 from parts of the Seaplane Lagoon while not completely obscuring the contributing structures. A motion to approve the certificate of appropriateness with that revision was seconded and recorded as carried.

Next steps: staff indicated the project will go to the planning board as an amendment to the Site A development plan, then to city council for the ground lease and purchase option; design review and permitting would follow before construction. The board’s approval tonight is a discretionary historic-review finding that will be considered alongside future planning, council and permitting actions.