Industrial Zones
Unlocking Antioch’s Waterfront Lands for Employment-Generating Uses
Antioch has some of the last heavy industrial zoning in the Bay Area, concentrated along its waterfront and underused in many places. For years, the opportunity was framed primarily as a marketing challenge: if the sites could simply be better known, perhaps more employers would consider them. As we engaged with stakeholders, however, it became clear that perception was only part of the issue. Many site selectors and regional partners believed the area was contaminated because of its industrial history, and that concern had to be addressed directly before the land could become truly competitive for reuse.
At the same time, Antioch sits within the Northern Waterfront region, where refineries have long played a central role in the local economy. As the energy transition accelerates, refinery operations across the region are changing through closures, production reductions, fuel transitions, and relocations. That shift creates both risk and opportunity: workers may be displaced, but industrial land can also be re-positioned for new employment-generating uses, especially in the green economy.
This initiative focuses on a simple charge: unlock vacant, industrially zoned land for employment-generating uses.
A major turning point came when Antioch joined with Contra Costa County, the City of Pinole, the City of Martinez, and Sustainable Contra Costa to form a Brownfields Assessment Coalition. Together, the coalition was awarded $1.2 million from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to assess suspected brownfield sites across the county, with a focused set of target census tracts in Antioch.
The two Antioch tracts include:
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Census Tract 06013306002 – Antioch’s legacy industrial area, including Wilbur Avenue and the waterfront.
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Census Tract 06013305000 – Downtown Antioch and significant industrial land to the west.
Priority sites within each tract have already been identified. The coalition is using the funding to build a site inventory, conduct Phase I and Phase II environmental assessments, develop reuse and cleanup plans, and refine priorities based on factors such as suitability for green industry, redevelopment potential, proximity to disadvantaged communities, transit access, and known contamination. Implementation is expected to continue through fall 2029, with Contra Costa County serving as lead grant manager.
Building a Path to Reuse
We worked to position Antioch’s waterfront industrial lands for productive reuse by reducing barriers to investment, improving market visibility, and aligning the area with regional planning efforts. Through brownfields assessment, production area planning, land inventory and marketing, and direct outreach to site selectors and partners, we built a clearer path for these sites to support future employment-generating uses.