In wake of merger with NorthWest, operations will be under one roof
[caption id="attachment_35643" align="alignright" width="360" caption="George Petersen Insurance will consolidate operations into this building at 175 West College Ave."][/caption]
SANTA ROSA -- George Petersen Insurance, the North Bay’s second largest property and casualty insurance agency, will soon relocate headquarters from its current 627 College Ave. location to another, larger building at 175 West College Ave.
The new location will consolidate two Santa Rosa offices into one, just about doubling the size and bringing all employees under one roof, according to Robb Daer, a partner in the Santa Rosa office.
The independent insurance brokerage last year acquired NorthWest Insurance Agency, and the move to a larger, consolidated location is a direct result of that, Mr. Daer said.
“We just really needed to get everyone under one roof,” Mr. Daer said. “It’s been our goal from day one to do that.”
Mr. Daer said the move is expected to be completed by November of this year, after renovations are completed.
The new location, purchased by George Petersen for an undisclosed price, will combine the current College Avenue location, on the corner of Humboldt Street, and NorthWest’s former B Street location across from Santa Rosa Plaza. It will house all 65 Sonoma County employees, a number that grew from the merger with NorthWest.
The move, Mr. Daer said, will be the finishing touch on the merger that occurred last September.
“We’re really excited about it,” he said. “It gives us the opportunity to be fully integrated.”
George Petersen will be the sole tenant of the two-story, approximately 19,000-square-foot building, according to Mr. Daer. The current College Avenue location is about 9,000 square feet and the B Street location is about 8,000 square feet.
George Petersen has been in its current location for 18 years, Mr. Daer said. The 75-year-old company was previously located at 1101 College Ave.
Both the current College Avenue and B Street offices were leased by George Petersen from Humboldt Partners and Commercial Managing Group, respectively, Mr. Daer said.
The new building on West College had an asking price of $2.46 million, or $127.63 per square foot, as of June 13, according to a listing from brokerage Keegan & Coppin. The building was bank owned and had been vacant for some time.
“From my standpoint, we’re just really excited to get this deal done and get the space built out,” Mr. Daer said. “It will be such a better opportunity for both cultures to be under one roof and move together.”
When George Petersen announced the merger last year with NorthWest, it was ranked No. 2 on the Business Journal’s list of independent property and casualty insurance agencies with $118 million in North Bay premium volume. NorthWest was ranked No. 5, with $56 million in premium volume.
Last year’s acquisition of NorthWest included offices in Napa, Ukiah, Gualala, Fort Bragg and Eureka. George Petersen has offices in Redding, Eureka, Auburn, Rancho Cordova and Bend., Ore., in addition to Santa Rosa. The Eureka offices will likely also be consolidated at some point, the company said last year upon the acquisition.
