North Bay Business Journal

American Canyon chamber names new CEO

AMERICAN CANYON — The American Canyon Chamber of Commerce board of directors named Susan Lane of Napa as the new president and chief executive officer of the 300-plus-member business group.

The chamber had been considering more than two dozen candidates from across the U.S. to replace Pam Wilkinson, who left recently to take another position.

Commercial Real Estate: South Napa wine warehouse deals push down vacancy

About 265,000 square feet in wine warehouse deals were inked recently in the south Napa area, with 164,000 square feet of that being net market absorption. … Hundreds of thousands of square feet of big-box retail space has gone dark in the North Bay in the past two years, but a number of the spaces are getting scooped up by retailers looking to reduce the cost of expanding into the market. … Four agents and brokers affiliated with Orion Partners, which closed earlier this year, have landed new associations. … As the city of Healdsburg narrows its list of consultants that will prepare long-range land-use plans for the central part of the city, longtime lumber vendor Nu Forest Products is vying to be considered as a transit-friendly mixed-use redevelopment site about a block south of the Plaza. …

American Canyon dedicates green high school

NAPA – After more than five years of environmentally sensitive planning, design and construction, American Canyon High School, set to open this fall, was dedicated Friday by the Napa Valley Unified School District.

Crushpad partners with IBG

NAPA – Custom winemaking service Crushpad moved all its shipping and fulfillment operations to IBG Fulfillment in Napa.

Napa tourism program on path to launch

NAPA — Long-standing efforts to establish a regional destination marketing fund in Napa Valley cleared yet another procedural milestone as the county Board of Supervisors voted unanimously last week to adopt a resolution supporting the Napa Valley Tourism Improvement District.

Warehouse goes green

AMERICAN CANYON — The 650,000-square-foot Kendall Jackson Family Wines Distribution Center earned LEED Gold certification from the U.S. Green Building Council, making it one of the largest LEED projects in the state.

Construction: Mi Pueblo opens in Marin; Santa Rosa store plans second location

Mi Pueblo Foods opened its San Rafael store, renovated from a 36,000-square-foot shuttered Circuit City store, on Wednesday. … Rancho Mendoza Super Mercado is reworking 14,000 square feet of former high-technology development and furniture store space at 1201 Piner Road in northwest Santa Rosa to create a second location. … The U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service last week expanded the critical habitat for the threatened California red-legged frog into six counties not covered by the 2006 ruling on habitat, including 21,814 acres along Mill Creek on the Mendocino Coast and two locations in Sonoma County, encompassing 1,564 acres in and around Annadel State Park east of Santa Rosa and 4,932 acres on Sonoma Mountain. … Ken Lafranchi of Santa Rosa-based Lafranchi Architecture and Development said the bulk of interest for the forthcoming remodel of the 2,400-square-foot Geyserville Post Office is coming from a group of boutique vintners interested in setting up a collective tasting room. … The Dutra Group’s proposal for an asphalt plant and aggregate distribution facility along the Petaluma River was postponed from March 16 to the May 11 Sonoma County Board of Supervisors meeting.

American Canyon’s Amcor screw-cap sees surging demand

AMERICAN CANYON — The North Coast impact of a recent multibillion-dollar divestiture of various divisions of Alcan Packaging, which makes the Stelvin line of aluminum screw cap wine closures, is expected to be more production capacity soon at the southern Napa Valley plant.

Napa-Solano county industrial: Some new demand in 2010 as tenants see excellent terms

The industrial markets of Napa and Solano counties are seeing a modest amount of demand as we head into 2010.

Napa-Solano retail: Celebrity chefs, other notable deals

The Napa County retail shopping centers market ended 2009 with a vacancy of 3.9 percent, a slim decrease compared with 4.0 percent in 2008. The Solano County retail shopping centers market vacancy pushed into double-digits as it closed 2009 at 12.3 percent, compared with 7.2 percent at year-end 2008.