North Bay Business Journal

SMART chooses airport site for maintenance facility

SANTA ROSA — updated 1:54 p.m. — The operations and maintenance facility for Sonoma Marin Area Rail Transit will be located at a site near the Charles M. Schulz–Sonoma County Airport, the transit authority announced today.

As groups mobilize to save Lucas project, company says decision final

SAN RAFAEL — County of Marin officials have been busy trying to convince filmmaker George Lucas to continue pursuing his Grady Ranch digital media studio, and local business groups have launched a new joint effort to help keep and attract employers like him.

Construction on new Sonoma Co. courthouse could start in 2014

The State Public Works Board in Sacramento today approved acquisition of three Santa Rosa properties needed to build a $178.7 million new Sonoma County criminal courthouse. It’s one of an estimated $380 million in projects for two new courthouses and one major renovation in North Bay counties in the next few years.

Lucas withdraws Grady Ranch studio project

SAN RAFAEL — Filmmaker George Lucas has dropped plans to build a 270,000-square-foot digital movie studio northwest of San Rafael and will take the project elsewhere, his real estate company announced this afternoon.

Report: Employers more confident about hiring

NORTH BAY — Employers in Sonoma County are more confident about the prospect of hiring in the second quarter compared to last year, with 13 percent saying they expected to increase staffing levels, according to a quarterly survey by ManpowerGroup, an international staffing firm with a Santa Rosa location. And overall in the North Bay, employers are generally more confident about the economy than they have been, suggesting that a slow but steady economic recovery is wending its way through region, employment experts said.

Grady Ranch decision delayed on regulator concerns

SAN RAFAEL — The Marin County Board of Supervisors today listened to two hours of testimony for and against filmmaker George Lucas’ proposed Grady Ranch digital movie studio project northwest of San Rafael but put off action on an appeal of earlier project approval, agreeing with staff that newly obtained input on the project from state and federal regulators on the project needed further consideration.

Piner High School project to widen pathway to construction, science jobs

SANTA ROSA — A 4-year-old nationally recognized Piner High School program that gives students reality-based training in the science, technology and mathematics behind the latest gadgets that help drivers find destinations via their smartphones, surveyors map more precisely and efficiently, and crews grade roads more cost-effectively wants to do its own major upgrade this summer.

Use of geothermal heat-exchange systems is rising

NORTH BAY – With high heating oil, propane and electricity prices, more commercial and residential building owners — as well as municipalities and school systems — are considering geothermal ground source heating and cooling as an alternative.

San Rafael chamber, city, Dominican partner in ‘greening’ project

SAN RAFAEL — The City of San Rafael, Dominican University and the San Rafael Chamber of Commerce have teamed up with Natural Capitalism Solutions, a nonprofit that consults businesses on greening strategies, to form a partnership aimed at providing businesses with affordable measures for creating sustainable practices.

Business News: Week of April 2, 2012

Novato-based Hennessy Advisors, Inc. (OTCBB:HNNA) announced that the Hennessy Select SPARX Japan Smaller Companies Fund (symbol:SPJSX) has been named a 2012 Lipper Fund Award winner. … PowerCAD Drafting & Design opened in Rohnert Park. It is an experienced team of CADD (computer aided design and drafting) professionals that support AEC (architecture, engineering and construction) industries utilizing 2D and 3D AutoCAD and related software. … Hospice of Petaluma announced Clover Stornetta Farms as the new title sponsor for its 22nd annual benefit golf tournament. … Children in the North Bay can learn about clean and renewable energy thanks to a $100,000 grant from Pacific Gas and Electric Co. (PG&E) recently awarded to the Children’s Museum of Sonoma County. … Sonoma Valley’s Ledson Winery and Vineyards (www.ledson.com) recently took top honors at the 2012 San Diego International Wine Competition. … Dan and Marguerite Capp have signed a long-term lease for a wine tasting venue in the Curbside Café space on First Street in downtown Napa, across the street from the entrance to Napa Town Center shopping mall. … Customers strolling through Oliver’s Markets will soon have the opportunity to place yet another homegrown product in their shopping carts. … Assemblymember Jared Huffman presented his March Sustainable North Bay Award to Osmosis Day Spa Sanctuary, in recognition of the company’s environmentally responsible business practices and consumer products.

2012 Construction Conference registration

North Bay Business Journal presents the 2012 Construction Conference, Tuesday, May 15, 7:30-11a.m., Fountaingrove Inn, Santa Rosa

On Grady Ranch, leaders must not lose sight of big picture

To many observers, opposition to George Lucas’s proposed Grady Ranch digital film studio must seem like a scene from a bad movie.

The first thing to understand is that the master plan under which the project is proposed was approved by county officials in 1996. Sixteen years later, the famed filmmaker is asking to build his dream studio in the very place he started and in the county that has benefited so much artistically and economically from his genius.

Napa County CEO proposes consolidation of departments to create ‘one-stop shop’ for permits

NAPA — In an effort to streamline its permitting process while reducing costs, Napa County is proposing to consolidate divisions currently within the Department of Environmental Management into the Department of Conservation, Development and Planning, while all general service functions would be operated out of the Public Works Department, creating a “one-stop shop” for permits.

Homes roll out of North Bay factories

NAPA and VALLEJO — A new phase of North Bay home manufacturing is rolling out of factories in Napa and Vallejo.

New owner of Greenbriar Apartments plans ‘substantial renovation’

PETALUMA — After a several-month effort to reach a purchase agreement with three lenders on the parts of a 224-unit Petaluma apartment complex involved in the Bijan Madjilessi bankruptcy, a significant California multifamily investor purchased Greenbriar Apartments and has a “substantial renovation budget” for maintenance and upgrades.

New project profile: The Meritage Hotel and Spa addition, Napa

NAPA — A 165-room luxury hotel would be a large project for Napa Valley by itself, but that’s just the addition coming this spring to The Meritage Hotel and Spa. And it’s opening on schedule in May, no small feat for such a large project delayed after the October 2010 groundbreaking by the wettest winter in years.

Construction: Succession plan for Soiland Co. moves forward

Daily management of Cotati-based Soiland Co. passed to founder Marv Soiland’s fourth son and Chief Executive Officer Mark Soiland. At the same time, the Soiland offices near Charles M. Schulz–Sonoma County Airport area consolidating to the Cotati office, and Marv Soiland’s oldest daughter, Marlene Soiland, will be stepping out of her 35-year role of administrative and financial manager. … The New York-based U.S. real estate arm of hedge fund Investcorp, which has $11.6 billion in assets under management, commented on its recent joint acquisition of 14 Petaluma office, industrial and retail buildings for about $65 million. [See the Business Journal story "Investors buy 14 Petaluma, Rohnert Park buildings," Feb. 27.] … Chris Craiker, a Napa-based architect and founder of the Napa Valley Architects Exchange, launched Condo Restoration Associates in California and Hawaii. … Heritage Salvage has been repurposing wood from a warehouse owned by hops icon John I. Haas in Washington state since 2010 into reclaimed flooring, custom tables, bars and countertops for local breweries, taverns, wineries and restaurants. … The new classroom building at Marin Country Day School in Corte Madera won the Green Building category in the WoodWorks Wood Design Awards, presented in Long Beach on Feb. 29. … The Santa Rosa-based Wine Country chapter of the Interior Design Society received Outstanding Charity Event award at the organization’s Designers of the Year and Chapter Awards Dinner held in Las Vegas on Jan. 28.

Neighbors appeal Lucas project approval

SAN RAFAEL — An organization representing neighbors of a proposed 270,000-square-foot Lucasfilm digital movie production studio in Lucas Valley northwest of San Rafael has appealed the recent project approval by the Marin County Planning Commission.

Lowry to retire from Burbank Housing

SANTA ROSA — John Lowry, executive director of Burbank Housing, plans to retire in September after 14 years in that role.

Airline traffic increases 5.4 percent in February to new record

SANTA ROSA — Airline travel in and out of Charles M. Schulz–Sonoma County Airport continued to climb upward in February, reaching an all-time high of 14,996 passengers, an increase of 5.4 percent from a year before, according to figures released this morning.