OAKLAND — After so many years of starts and stops, some would be forgiven for thinking the former Oak Knoll Naval Hospital would remain a ghost of its past, nothing more.

But the Oakland City Council on Tuesday evening ended the long wait over the site’s fate by voting to approve the construction of 918 townhomes and houses at the former military hospital above Interstate 580. The project will represent one of the largest developments in the city recent years, in terms of acreage.

The 5-3 vote cast after a bit of council drama ended a saga dating back 20 years, when the hospital closed in 1996 after 54 years of treating servicemen wounded in World War II and the Korean and Vietnam wars.

Spread over 187 acres, the proposed development includes 72,000 square feet of retail property, 67 acres of open space, biking and walking trails, a restored creek and art installations.

The Alameda Labor Council and other local union groups objected to developer SunCal’s agreement to hire workers from the Laborers’ International Union of North America Local 304 for demolition, land grading and other project jobs. Local union members told the council the project should include a labor agreement — which has been used in other large developments such as Brooklyn Basin — to hire more local unions.

“Oak Knoll is a project for the rich built by the lowest paid workers possible,” said Jeff Dixon, an organizer with the Sprinkler Fitters Local 483.

James Vann of the Oakland Tenants Union and other critics also chafed at the fact that there are no affordable housing units for the estimated 2,000 people who will live at Oak Knoll. SunCal decided to pay $20 million in impact fees in lieu of setting aside 15 percent of units for low-income residents. The impact fees, which will be paid over several years, can be used to help pay for future affordable housing projects.

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Later in the hearing, which ended around 11 p.m., Councilwoman Rebecca Kaplan said the city could build affordable housing on a five-acre plot controlled by the city near Oak Knoll known as the Barcelona parcel.

People who have watched the Oak Knoll development saga for more than 20 years praised the work of Councilman Larry Reid. Reid, whose district includes the former hospital, has shepherded the former hospital’s development since 1992, first as an aide to former Mayor Elihu Harris. Elected to council in 1996, Reid ran for a sixth term in 2016 in large part to finish his pet project.

Supporters welcomed the prospect of a new grocery store in the neighborhood and open space at a site that became an eyesore and haven for squatters over the years.

In 2011, the former hospital building, a warehouse and bachelor’s quarters were demolished, which required approval from a federal judge after SunCal’s former financial partner, Lehman Brothers, went bankrupt in 2008. The historic Club Knoll, a Spanish revival building that served as a golf clubhouse and officer’s club, will be relocated on site and rehabilitated, according to plans submitted in April.

On Tuesday, Reid nearly had to wait a few more weeks to see its end. Councilman Abel Guillen, who had reservations about the project not including a new fire station, made a motion seconded by Councilman Dan Kalb to delay the vote to later this month. It failed, and Reid left the dais and the Council Chambers for several minutes.

When Guillen, Kalb and Councilman Noel Gallo made it clear they were voting no, Reid called them each “disingenuous.” He said Guillen and Gallo had told him otherwise in the hallway and took a jab at Kalb, who is running for a state assembly seat.

“We invited you to come out and take a tour,” Reid told Kalb. “You chose not to hear the concerns of the residents in my district who live around Oak Knoll. I understand you are running for assembly and you are playing in to everybody.”

Never received any invite to any Oak Knoll tour. #oversight #oakmtg — Dan KALB (@DanKalb) November 8, 2017

Kalb, in a tweet posted after the meeting, said he was never invited on a tour. “We need these homes,” Kalb said, but, “this package isn’t ready for prime time in my opinion.”

In the end, Reid had the votes with support from Lynette Gibson McElhaney, Desley Brooks, Annie Campbell Washington and Kaplan.

When the ayes were tallied, a relieved Reid leaned back in his chair and lifted arms above his head in victory.

“Yes,” he said.

SunCal officials have said they plan to begin work in the first quarter of 2018.