North Bay Business Journal

The Business Journal will present its 2013 Construction Conference, titled “North Bay Construction is Coming Back,” on Wednesday, May 15, at Sonoma Mountain Village in Rohnert Park.

SANTA ROSA — Wells Fargo Center for the Arts today announced plans for a four-part, $10 million upgrade project to improve patron and artist experience, increase accessibility and provide greater flexibility at the 31-year old center.

After the November opening of the 12-screen movie complex at the 163,000-square-foot South Napa Century Center, the 15-acre project is set the construction premiere of one to three more retail buildings this summer. …

A year and a half after an affiliate of San Francisco-based Pacific Urban Residential Properties, or PUR (purapts.com), purchased The Colonial Apartments in San Rafael, the San Francisco-based investor sold it for a “nice profit.” …

Marin County’s largest city and civic hub, San Rafael, wants to boost its appeal as a commercial center, and a number of interrelated local government and business group efforts are in motion with the goal of making that happen.

Several large retail construction projects are reaching completion or getting started in Sonoma County this year in Petaluma, Sebastopol and Windsor.

NOVATO — W. Bradley Electric has diversified into much more than an electrical contractor, and now the company is becoming more than a North Bay or even national company, as opportunities grow for security-control jobs and, soon, telecommunications-related work outside the U.S.

SANTA ROSA — A newcomer to the no-upfront-cost residential solar energy market, but affiliated with a company that has national experience with home security, energy-management and automation systems, has opened a North Bay installation hub, one of three in the Bay Area as the company rapidly expands locally.

Office building owners and their tenants have long understood the value of depreciation expense in relation to cash flow.

Depreciation expense is a deduction that reduces taxable income and thereby increases after-tax cash flow.

Nearly every major health care provider in the region has recently opened a new clinic or outpatient center, and numerous others have said plans are under way for similar expansions, reflecting a concerted effort by providers to move outside of the hospital setting. …

Marin General Hospital recently opened the Baden Diabetes Center, an outpatient program that provides self-management skills, treatment and on-going guidance for patients with diabetes. …

NorthBay Healthcare is in the process of developing a new medical office building in Fairfield adjacent to its administrative center at 4500 Business Center Dr. …

St. Joseph Health recently completed the move if its Memorial Hospice program to 439 College Ave. in Santa Rosa, where it will occupy 12,000 square feet. …

Northern California Center for Well-Being will hold its third annual Workforce Wellness Symposium this month at Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital. …

SEBASTOPOL — FlashCo Manufacturing, a fabricator of roof-penetration details with integrated flashing designed to trim installation time and enhance waterproofing, is doubling the size of its headquarters plant in a move to Santa Rosa.

Spotlight on law firm managing partners, listed alphabetically by law firm name: Patrick Emery of Abbey, Weitzenberg, Warren & Emery, Wendy Whitson of Anderson, Zeigler, Disharoon, Gallagher & Gray, Michael Garcia of Beyers Costin, Arthur Curley of Bradley, Curley, Asiano, Barrabee & Gale, Alan Brayton of Brayton Purcell, John Mackie of Carle, Mackie, Power & Ross, Clay Clement of Clement, Fitzpatrick & Kenworthy, Cynthia Smith of Coombs & Dunlap, Scott Gerien of Dickenson, Peatman & Fogarty, Katherine Ohlandt of Farella Braun + Martel, Peter Kleinbrodt of Freitas, McCarthy, McMahon & Keating, John Friedemann of Friedemann Goldberg, Dave Gaw of Gaw Van Male, Michael Carlson of Geary, Shea, O’Donnell, Grattan & Mitchell, Andrew Giacomini of Hanson Bridgett, Jessica Karner of Keegin Harrison Schoppert Smith & Karner, Bill Arnone of Merrill, Arnone & Jones, Anne Hernandez of Mullen & Filippi, James Parrinello of Nielsen, Merksamer, Parrinello, Mueller & Naylor, Michael Watters of O’Brien Watters & Davis, James Sell of Parton Sell Rhoades, Leslie Perry of Perry, Johnson, Anderson, Miller & Moskowitz, David Feingold of Ragghianti Freitas, Glenn Smith of Smith Dollar, Gregory Spaulding of Spaulding McCullough & Tansil, and Michael Vasquez of Vasquez, Estrada & Conway.

ROHNERT PARK — Station Casinos recently unveiled early drawings of the forthcoming Graton Resort & Casino, offering a glimpse of what the $800 million project will look like upon completion of construction.

SANTA ROSA — A training center for North Coast apprentice electricians is getting a major upgrade as the skills needs grow to work on increasingly advanced automation, alternative-energy and energy-efficiency systems.

ROHNERT PARK — As construction of the $800 million Graton Resort and Casino project in northwest Rohnert Park speeds toward a planned opening late this year, the developer on Monday ramped up the marketing campaign with the release of architectural renderings of the forthcoming facility and a website for the forthcoming facility.

Solar permitting throughout Sonoma County is now a singular process with one fee, solar advocates announced.

PETALUMA — New leases to Beverages & More, JPMorgan Chase Bank and Chipotle Mexican Grill bring the 291,000 square feet of retail space under construction at the East Washington Place project to more than 90 percent leased, even as the scheduled opening of the anchor Target store is still months away.

The battle between local and state governments over redevelopment funds earmarked for construction projects is intensifying as Santa Rosa, Petaluma and the county of Sonoma take legal action after state finance officials repeatedly rejected claims that the funds are legitimately committed to projects in advanced stages of progress.

The role of facility managers is expanding, enabling some to move from middle management closer to the C Suite — 11 percent are senior executives working alongside the CEO, CFO and COO.

SONOMA COUNTY — A number of large Sonoma County nonprofits and public agencies have expressed interest in a new energy efficiency upgrade program being developed under the Sonoma County Water Agency, hoping to use its unique financing structure to upgrade aging facilities, realize immediate gains through lower maintenance costs and ultimately lower costs for energy use.

College of Marin hired Jonathan Eldridge as new vice president of Student Services. …

Attorney Michael Pfeifer has joined Santa Rosa-based law firm Smith Dollar PC. Mr. Pfeifer will head the firm’s office in Orange. … Also joining the firm’s Orange County office are attorneys Annabelle de la Mora and Libby Wong. …

Buckelew Programs named Steve Eckert, LCSW, as the organization’s new executive director. …

Kim Kaselionis has been named to the governing board of the Women’s Inititative for Self-Employment, a national organization headquartered in Novato, and elected to the Marin Women’s Hall of Fame. …

The Press Democrat appointed Jennifer Williams as director of advertising. …

Blu Homes, Inc. announced that Gary Martell has joined the company as chief financial officer, based in Vallejo. …

Visit Napa Valley promoted Sonyia Grabski to vice president, consumer direct marketing. …

Cline Cellars and Jacuzzi Family Vineyards promoted Keith Morris to vice president and national sales manager. …