Construction
FARROW Commercial Construction has completed renovations for a homeowners association of a well-known shared ownership resort in Scottsdale, AZ. FARROW’s portfolio includes the award-winning Hilton Fort Wayne, Indiana, the Hilton Atlanta the Hyatt House Sorrento Mesa, Stonebridge, Marriott Palm Beach Gardens, and Holiday Inn Baltimore among others. Some of FARROW’s current and recent vacation ownership clients include Diamond Resorts, Hyatt, Vacation Resorts International (VRI), Starwood Vacation Ownership, Wyndham Worldwide, Grand Lodge at Peak 7 (Breckenridge Grand Vacations), Vacations Internationale (VI), LaTour Resorts and Hotels, Worldmark and Bluebeard’s Castle (SPM Resorts). Other projects also include Hilton and Marriott, among others.Health Care
St. Helena Hospital Napa Valley recently held its 23rd Annual Golf Invitational with the goal of raising $75,000 benefiting intensive care unit upgrades. Hallmark activities in the tournament include an exclusive “Golf Skills Clinic,” hosted by well-known golder Johnny Miller, along with traditional tournament activities, contests, hospitality and prizes. The tournament will take place on Miller’s own re-designed and highly rated North Course at Silverado Resort and Spa. Last year this event completely sold out with 144 participants and raised $50,000 benefitting cardiovascular education programs.Nonprofits
Homeward Bound of Marin, the primary provider of residential and support services for homeless individuals and families in Marin County, today launched a ‘nonprofit IPO’ with renowned investor Warren Buffett buying the first share. Rather than an “Initial Public Offering” of shares in a for-profit company, this IPO represents an “Immediate Public Opportunity … to end homelessness.” Up to 15,000 “fundraising shares” have been made available at $50 each. Proceeds will finance construction of Oma Village at 5394 Nave Drive in Novato, an innovative complex of 14 modern, green rental homes for families transitioning out of homelessness.
Homeward Bound already has raised $3 million of the expected $5 million development cost. Release of the shares coincides with Affordable Housing Week in Marin County, a place that consistently tops the National Low-Income Housing Coalition’s list for most expensive rental housing in the country.Mr. Buffett, who has already committed the bulk of his fortune to five foundations, agreed to kick off the Oma Village IPO campaign to raise awareness of this opportunity to create a new model for affordable family housing for the future. The Oma Village development is being designed by Blu Homes, an innovative manufacturer of energy-efficient, precision-engineered homes and creator of the 2012 Sunset Magazine Idea House in Healdsburg.
Homeward Bound of Marin pioneered the “nonprofit IPO” as a fundraising technique while building the Next Key Center, an affordable housing and job training campus that opened in 2008 in Novato, Calif. Mr. Buffett also bought the inaugural share of that issue, which raised more than $1 million.Homeward Bound also has helped several other nonprofits launch fundraising IPOs. The Canadian Women's Foundation's Girls Growth Fund and Florida's Take Stock in Children both took advice from Homeward Bound and raised over $500,000 by utilizing this concept.Retail
Sonoma County’s Oliver’s Market and four other specialty food retailers from across the country have been named “Outstanding Retailers of 2013” by the Specialty Food Association. Oliver’s has stores in Santa Rosa and Cotati. The winners are featured in the May/June issue of Specialty Food Magazine. The winners were selected by a panel of leading specialty food professionals including manufacturers, distributors, previous honorees and editors of Specialty Food Magazine.Wine
The Land Trust of Napa County has received a $11,439 donation from The Hess Collection, generated by the winery’s participation in the 1 percent For The Plant environmental advocacy program, a global movement of companies donating 1 percent of sales for local environmental programs. The Hess Collection is a long-time member, and has often selected the Land Trust as the beneficiary of this annual donation. The 380-acre Archer Taylor Preserve, a permanently protected wildlife habitat managed by the Land Trust, is located near the winery.
Each year Hess designates 1 percent of sales from the Hess Collection Small Block Series of limited-release wines made available exclusively to Hess Collector’s Club members and visitors who purchase the wines at the winery on Mount Veeder for the program. Since the effort began, the winery has donated more than $50,000 from the sales of the limited production wines, and other sustainability promotions.
