North Bay Business Journal

SAN RAFAEL — The Marin Community Foundation will no longer be involved in a proposal to construct an affordable housing project at the site of filmmaker George Lucas’s Grady Ranch outside San Rafael, citing uncertainties in obtaining federal and state financing necessary to bring the project to fruition, according to a joint announcement today by the foundation and Mr. Lucas’s real estate company.

The Business Journal is researching for its new list of the largest North Bay Women-owned Companies. Deadline to submit your name is Tuesday, June 25th.

If your company is 51 percent or more women-owned and is located in Sonoma, Napa, Marin or Solano counties, please fill in this form.

The deadline for signing up is Friday, June 21.

NAPA — After years of intense discussion about how the proposed 154-acre redevelopment of the former Napa Pipe plant would unfold, the Napa County Board of Supervisors today passed General Plan and zoning provisions considered key to allowing the commercial and residential project to move forward.

Work remains to finalize specific design guidelines and an outline for the project’s relationship with the adjacent city of Napa.

NOVATO — Eden Housing celebrated the opening of its second affordable housing development in Marin County last month, completing 60 homes for low-income seniors in a county whose aging population and shortage of rental stock has created an intensifying demand for those initiatives.

As median home prices climb sharply in the North Bay, a recent report by real estate data tracker RealtyTrac shows that the Santa Rosa-Petaluma market is one of the most profitable nationwide for “flipping” homes.

Share your thoughts on this week’s NBBJ Pulse Poll question: “Is there a new bubble forming in residential real estate?”

NAPA COUNTY — The groundbreaking for a 154-acre mixed use development near the city of Napa, Napa Pipe, moved a few steps closer Tuesday, after the Napa County Board of Supervisors voted to close public comment and have county staff spend the next two weeks ironing out a few final details for special zoning measures that would help facilitate the project’s construction.

As median home prices climb sharply in the North Bay, a recent report by real estate data tracker RealtyTrac shows that the Santa Rosa-Petaluma market is one of the most profitable nationwide for “flipping” homes.

MILL VALLEY — Thompson Dorfman Partners, LLC, today said it plans to spend $500 million in the next three years building multifamily and mixed-use developments in Northern California and hired a veteran of such projects to oversee the expansion.

The 14-year-old company hired Gillian Sutton Cho as vice president of development to manage acquisition and entitlement of projects, including almost 1,200 Bay Area units in design, entitlement or construction.

Bob Glover oversees local-governmental affairs as part of his duties as executive officer of the Building Industry Association of the Bay Area.

He is set to be the keynote speaker at the Business Journal’s 2013 Construction Conference in Santa Rosa on May 15.

He spoke with the Business Journal about economic indicators that point to continued strengthening of homebuilding in the North Bay and the rest of the Bay Area as well as well as the headwinds builders continue to face seven years after the housing industry started a steep dive locally in shrinking sales, stalled and failed projects, and employment decline.

Massage Envy Spa’s Santa Rosa location hired a certified massage therapist in March, Susan Losinski. …

The Meritage Resort and Spa in Napa hired an additional group sales manager, Mary Jo Baird. …

Jen Birmingham, a sales associate in Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage’s Petaluma office, has been awarded membership in the company’s International Sterling Society, an honor bestowed upon the top Coldwell Banker sales associates worldwide. …

Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage announced that Gary Sumner, a sales associate in its Santa Rosa office, earned membership in the company’s International Diamond Society. …

Sonoma-based marketing agency V2 Wine Group appointed industry veteran Ken Meyerson director of national retail accounts. …

MILL VALLEY — Redwood Trust, Inc. (NYSE: RWT) today announced net income of $61 million for the first quarter of 2013, equivalent to 69 cents per diluted share and up 45.2 percent versus earnings in the first three months of last year.

Melissa Bastianon and Cathy Miller are the newest members of Frank Howard Allen Realtors’ Sebastopol office. …

Michael Moffett, a Coldwell Banker Commercial Brokers of the Valley agent in Napa, earned a spot in the company’s Bronze Level Circle of Distinction. …

Jeanette Ditter, a sales associate in Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage’s Santa Rosa office, earned membership in the company’s International Diamond Society. …

Petaluma-based Cyan appointed Joe Cumello chief marketing officer. …

Sonoma County Tourism certified its 500th “tourism ambassador”: Randy Johnson, owner of Getaway Adventures. …

NAPA — Fifty-four rental townhomes and a 124-unit apartment complex on the Sheveland Ranch property in south Napa sold to a San Francisco real estate investment firm for $39.5 million.

Bank of Marin hired Jim Burke as chief information officer. …

Zero Breast Cancer, a nonprofit organization in Marin County, will honor the following individuals and organizations for their contributions to the understanding of breast cancer: David Gullion, M.D., Carol Kronenwetter, Ph.D., Regan Fedric.

The 2013 Francine Levien Activist honorees are Stig Westling, MBA, Jonathan Mooney, MBA and Janine Elliott, MBA, co-founders of Skip to Renew, a company that was launched through the Dominican University Venture Greenhouse. …

Michael Gregory, sales associate with Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage’s Petaluma office, has been awarded membership in the company’s International Sterling Society, an honor bestowed upon the top Coldwell Banker sales associates worldwide. …

Rebecca Celli, sales associate with Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage’s Petaluma office, has earned membership into the company’s International President’s Circle, a prestigious honor bestowed upon the top Coldwell Banker sales associates worldwide. …

Sodaro Estate Winery appointed a new winemaking team: Denis Malbec and May-Britt Malbec. …

Demand continues to outpace supply for housing markets in the North Bay and the Bay Area, and housing prices continue to climb skyward at double-digit rates, according to a monthly housing report by San Diego-based DataQuick.

First Community Bank in January hired April Hines as chief financial officer and Jonathan Graves as vice president and commercial loan officer. …

Santa Rosa Chamber of Commerce’s board of directors elected Rolf Nelson, senior vice president of Exchange Bank, as 2013 chairman-elect. …

Brent Ainsworth, editor of the Novato Patch community news website and a former Marin Independent Journal reporter and editor, will join the county of Marin as public information officer. …

To Celebrate Life Breast Cancer Foundation, a volunteer-based organization whose goal is to ensure that no one faces breast cancer alone, appointed Jeanne Capurro the new president of its board of directors, and Rebecca Spencer and Gerard Bourguignon, Ph.D., as new board members. …

W Property Management hired Donna Nordby as North Bay director of management and leasing. …

Luann Scally joined 5th Street Financial in July as the sales manager as well as a mortgage loan office. …

Joe Scaramella joined Santa Rosa-based 5th Street Financial and W Real Estate as business development officer. …

Cline Cellars and Jacuzzi Family Vineyards hired Robert Hawk as regional manager for the Great Lakes territory. …

MILL VALLEY — Redwood Trust, Inc. (NYSE: RWT) today reported net income of $132 million in 2012, with earnings from the company’s mortgage banking arm and lower loss provisions contributing to the marked increase over $26 million in net income for 2011.

Patsy Van Ouwerkerk, president and CEO of Travis Credit Union in Vacaville, was named chairman of the Solano Economic Development Corp. board of directors. …

Santa Rosa Chamber of Commerce announced its 2013 board of directors. …

Jonathan Eldridge was named vice president of student services for College of Marin. …

Jerry Dunn will become the new human services director for the county of Sonoma. …

James Keller has been hired by the Napa Sanitation District to fill the vacancy left by former plant manager Sharleen Maglione, who retired in December after 28 years with the district. …

Tom Kemper joined Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage as a sales associate and technology consultant in its Santa Rosa office. …

New California legislation known as the “homeowner bill of rights” helped the rate of new foreclosures to plunge in the North Bay and beyond in January, while home prices and sales in general continued a steady upward climb, according to reports released today by Irvine-based foreclosure tracker RealtyTrac and San Diego-based real estate data service DataQuick.

The Climate Change Business Journal, a business research publication which provides high-value strategic business intelligence to the climate change industry, honored Marin Clean Energy among 34 companies and organizations for business achievement on criteria such as revenue growth, smart grid and energy management, low-carbon and renewable power, energy-efficiency innovation, renewable-energy integration, climate change adaptation projects, NGO activity. …

A proposal by Homeward Bound of Marin to create 14 small rental homes for formerly homeless working families has received a $600,000 grant from the Marin Community Foundation. …

The Jewish Community Federation of San Francisco, the Peninsula, Marin and Sonoma Counties announced its decision to award URJ Camp Newman a $1 million grant to support the redevelopment of the 65-year old camp located in Sonoma County. …

Farella Braun + Martel LLP celebrated its 50th anniversary with community service, including $500,000 in gifts and 5,000 hours of volunteering. …