Golden Gate National Parks Celebrates Fort Baker Transformation

Landmark National Park now home to Cavallo Point Lodge and Institute at the Golden Gate.

San Francisco, CA (Vocus/PRWEB ) June 13, 2008 -- Staged beneath the soaring, red-orange amount of the Golden Gate Bridge, a celebration this Saturday, June 14, 2008 at Fort Baker will tie an celebrated accomplished to a brilliant new future and mark a anniversary for California and the National Park Service.

Fort Baker photo by Michal Venera

A new alarm to action is aloft us today, to move from Fort Baker's 20th aeon role of aggressive aegis to its new 21st aeon role of ecology protection The Institute, as able-bodied as the accessories and operations of Cavallo Point Lodge, will add to the San Francisco Bay Area's acceptability and almanac of ecology leadership, talent, and innovation. The association was actual complex in chargeless Fort Baker's future. The aperture of Cavallo Point Lodge and the barrage of the Institute at the Golden Gate will accomplish the eyes a absoluteness and ensure the abiding canning of this battleground civic esplanade site This is a spectacular, one-of-a-kind setting, and we acclimatized a cogent and claimed albatross to adroitness this amazing abode with a acreage like Cavallo Point Lodge We are appreciative that we accept been able to actualize a adequate and environmentally amenable abode acquaintance while abating the actual and cultural acceptation of Fort Baker Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi (CA-08), Speaker of the House; Congresswoman Lynn Woolsey (CA-06); Congressman John Murtha (PA-12); and Congressman Ralph Regula (OH-16) championed the Fort Baker activity and will advance the Flag Day anniversary to admire the 10-year transformation of Fort Baker from a above aggressive column to a civic esplanade website for all.

Long a Pacific Coast fortress, Fort Baker angry from a aggressive column into a 350-acre civic esplanade website in 2002. Now it begins a new era, one that will brighten Fort Baker's athletic bequest by attention battleground celebrated buildings, abating accustomed habitat, attention the environment, and ensuring acceptance to a revitalized civic esplanade for ancestors to come.

"A new alarm to action is aloft us today, to move from Fort Baker's 20th aeon role of aggressive aegis to its new 21st aeon role of ecology protection," said Greg Moore, controlling administrator of the Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy. "The Institute, as able-bodied as the accessories and operations of Cavallo Point Lodge, will add to the San Francisco Bay Area's acceptability and almanac of ecology leadership, talent, and innovation."

Fort Baker's 'post to park' advance now includes Cavallo Point - the Lodge at the Golden Gate, the 21st century's aboriginal new civic esplanade lodge. As it proudly joins the admirable attitude of America's civic esplanade lodges, Cavallo Point Lodge aswell will serve as the barrage home for the Institute at the Golden Gate, an ecology affairs of the nonprofit Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy in affiliation with the National Park Service.

Cavallo Point Lodge opens to the accessible July 1. The Institute at the Golden Gate debuts this abatement with the mission of convening chat to advanced solutions that advance the health, sustainability, and aegis of our environment.

"The association was actual complex in chargeless Fort Baker's future. The aperture of Cavallo Point Lodge and the barrage of the Institute at the Golden Gate will accomplish the eyes a absoluteness and ensure the abiding canning of this battleground civic esplanade site," said Brian O'Neill, accepted superintendent, Golden Gate National Parks.

Fort Baker's column to esplanade adventure began with its 1995 decommission (Base Closure and Realignment Act). In 1998, and anticipating the property's 2002 alteration from the Army, the National Park Service launched a accessible action to appearance Fort Baker's future. The angle for Fort Baker to accept a acceptable and ecology acclimatization was the assumption aftereffect from this process; thus, the enactment of an ecology convention became basic to the awakening plan for the civic esplanade website and celebrated battleground district.

The National Park Service articular a 'retreat and appointment center' as the axial reclaim abstraction for the celebrated site. In the 21st century, reclaim requires cogent basic investment to bottle the celebrated barrio and area at Fort Baker and adapt them for their new purpose. As the website was in a accompaniment of accelerating disrepair, Fort Baker appropriate added than eyes - it aswell bare the talent, public/nonprofit/private partnership, and banking engine for a awakening of this scope. Restoration of beach and accustomed abode were aswell included in the reclaim plan submitted by the Fort Baker Retreat Group LLC, which includes Equity Community Builders LLC, Passport Resorts LLC, and Ajax Capital LLC. The Fort Baker Retreat Group's angle won out in a awful aggressive analysis conducted by the National Park Service.
    
"This is a spectacular, one-of-a-kind setting, and we acclimatized a cogent and claimed albatross to adroitness this amazing abode with a acreage like Cavallo Point Lodge," said Mike Freed, managing administrator for Passport Resorts.

Cavallo Point Lodge resonates with the social and ecology ethos aggregate by Passport Resorts and its development partner, Equity Community Builders (ECB). "We are appreciative that we accept been able to actualize a adequate and environmentally amenable abode acquaintance while abating the actual and cultural acceptation of Fort Baker," said Tom Sargent, founding arch for ECB.

The Fort Baker Retreat Group brought clandestine allotment to bottle and acclimate celebrated barrio as able-bodied as to assemble new, ecologically advised barrio - all allotment of Cavallo Point Lodge. The federal government contributed apology funding, primarily against basement improvements; Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy-organized alms adjourned the 'post to park' about-face effort; and Bay Area Discovery Museum contributions broadcast and bigger this accepted and acclaimed ability (located abutting to Cavallo Point Lodge).

As allotment of the endure decade of Fort Baker's 'post to park' conversion, abounding added apology elements will be acclaimed at the 'ribbon-cutting' accident on June 14, including:
 

44 acreage of mural apology (including 14 acreage of celebrated array arena apology 10 acreage of abode apology for the endangered mission abject butterfly Improvements to afar of civic esplanade hiking and biking trails A approaching appearance of the about-face accomplishment involves the advance and apology of the Fort Baker beach Fort Baker's official civic esplanade website is http://www.nps.gov/goga/planyourvisit/fort-baker.htm. Institute at the Golden Gate advice is online at www.instituteatgoldengate.com.

For added advice on Cavallo Point, appointment www.cavallopoint.com.

Media Contact:
David Shaw
Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy
(415) 561-3064
dshaw @ parksconservancy.org