In the Dumbarton Quarry Campground project, Romtec supplied and installed six custom building packages for a new campground in the East Bay Regional Park District (EBRPD) in Fremont, California. Dumbarton Quarry Park is located on the eastern shore of the San Francisco Bay, just off California State Route 84.
The new campground project, located in the Dumbarton Quarry Park by the EBRPD rejuvenates a quarry from the “Bay Area building boom of the 1950’s”, which was used to supply building material for major infrastructure projects in the area, including airports, highways, and more.
The campground project is EBRPD’s first urban campground built along the San Francisco Bay and one of the largest campgrounds that has opened in California in the last three decades.
The development comes from a strong private and public partnership including the former owner of the rock quarry, Oliver DeSilva Company who donated $15 million to allow the 60-acre site to be developed without taxpayer funding.
DeSilva negotiated with the EBRPD, City of Fremont, and the US Fish and Wildlife in 1977 to convert the quarry into a public park upon closure which happened in 2007.
The 320’ below sea level quarry pit was filled with six million cubic yards of clean dirt and fill from major construction projects in the area including the SF Central Subway Muni extension, and Hetch Hetchy water pipeline tunnel crossing the Bay.
The pit, which was touted as the lowest quarry pit in the western hemisphere took 12 years to fill.
The project has multiple phases, and the completion of all phases will see more than 100 campsites, an amphitheater, an event center, and restrooms that will connect the Don Edwards refuge with Coyote Hills Regional Park. (Jones, 2015)
There are 63 family campsites and 60 with full recreation vehicle (RV) hookups. There is access to scenic waterfront trails in Coyote Hills Regional Park and Don Edwards National Wildlife Refuge.
Romtec designed, supplied, and installed six custom structures onsite to meet the various needs of the park and new campground. Guests will approach the Romtec custom gatehouse as they enter the park, a slender building that features an office and a single restroom for the guards.
Inside the campground, Romtec supplied a “Camp Store”, a custom building with an office, a restroom, a store area, and a laundry room with two washers and two dryers; two “quattro” restroom buildings that feature four unisex American Disability Act (ADA) compliant restrooms and a mechanical room; as well as two Shower House buildings with men’s and women’s multi-user restrooms, three individual showers, one ADA shower, one family restroom with a shower, and a mechanical space.
All four buildings feature a matching and unified theme to uphold the aesthetic of the park, and are composed of sturdy, smooth face block with board and batten siding and a lap siding wainscot. In addition to the difference in texture of the siding, shake roofing adds another visually interesting aspect and upholds a natural feel for the structure. Combined, these elements and textures provide an aesthetically pleasing look that allows the structures to fit in with the surrounding environment.
The East Bay Regional Park District is continuing work on the Dumbarton Quarry project, with further improvements to come to the park. Dumbarton Quarry Park will join the 65 other parks and 1,250 miles of trails managed by the EBRPD to foster outdoor learning and recreation “amid the wetlands and grassy hillsides of the southern East Bay Shoreline.” (Jones, 2015)
In the future there are plans for a special event center and 19 additional family campsites, 28 convenience cabins, and two large group camping areas.