BRENTWOOD – Four major projects, which include a youth service center and two fire stations, totaling $173 million and meant to benefit those in Brentwood, Antioch, and Oakley, are planned for East Contra Costa County cities.
Contra Costa County Supervisor Diane Burgis said the projects will improve youth programming, fire protection, and access to county services.
East County is one of the fastest-growing parts of the Bay Area, said Burgis.
“We need services to expand to where our population is growing,” Burgis said in a statement. “When these projects are completed, residents won’t have to travel to Martinez or Concord to receive crucial county services, teens will have more safe and enriching programs after school, and East County will have the best fire and paramedic coverage in our history.”
One of the projects, the East County Service Center, will be on county-owned land in Brentwood, off Technology Way, near the intersection of Sand Creek Road and Brentwood Boulevard. It will include eight county departments and is expected to serve 300 residents daily.
The 113,000-square-foot facility is slated to house employment and human services, health services, the clerk-recorder’s office, veterans services, child support services, probation, the district attorney, the public defender, and Burgis’ office. It will also have an office for the Department of Information Technology, which does not provide services to the public.
Burgis said the facility, which costs $120 million, will begin construction in 2026 and is expected to open its doors to the public the following year.
She also assured that services currently provided in other county offices, such as in Martinez, Concord, and other locations around the county, will continue to be available in those locations.
Another project, the District 3 Youth Center, will be built utilizing funds allocated from Measure X – a countywide 20-year, half-cent sales tax that passed in November 2020. The 15,000-square-foot building will be constructed on Windy Springs Lane off Lone Tree Way, bordering Brentwood, Antioch, and Oakley. It is estimated to cost $18 million to construct, of which $10 million has already been allocated from Measure X funds.
The center is expected to open in late 2026 or early 2027. It will serve youth from all three cities and East County’s unincorporated areas, such as Bethel Island, Byron, Discovery Bay, and Knightsen.
According to Burgis, youth in Antioch will benefit from two youth centers that are about 8 miles apart – the District 3 Youth Center, which is less than half a mile from the eastern Brentwood-Antioch border, and the District 5 Youth Center planned on Loveridge Road in Pittsburg, less than 1 mile from the western Pittsburg-Antioch border.
As for the two fire stations, Burgis said the Contra Costa County Fire Protection District is building them within Brentwood city limits. According to Burgis, improvements to fire protection services are pivotal for homeowners who have had difficulty renewing their insurance policies.
She said Brentwood is currently rated a Class 4 community by the Insurance Services Office – an organization that evaluates fire risks on behalf of insurance companies. The rating is based on the previous level of protection provided by the East Contra Costa Fire Protection District, which impacts homeowners’ insurance rates.
Burgis said the Insurance Services Office is currently evaluating coverage in Brentwood. It assesses communities on a scale of 1 to 10, with 1 being the best score.
Burgis added that the new evaluation could see ratings improve to Class 3 or better, which, based on increases in staffing and other benefits of the annexation into Contra Costa Fire, will help improve insurance rates.
Fire Station 94 in downtown Brentwood will be a new, modern “replacement for the obsolete station” previously used by East Contra Costa Fire. Plans for the station, which is estimated to cost $12 million, need to be approved by the Brentwood Planning Commission.
Burgis estimated that construction could begin in early Spring next year.
Fire Station 90 will be adjacent to the new District 3 Youth Center. This new site, estimated to cost $23 million, will accommodate two fire companies. Burgis said the design work would begin next January.