North Bay Business Journal

Raydiance weighs Petaluma expansion

Raydiance, developer of next-generation laser technology, is considering a major expansion in Petaluma this year. Other items in this commercial real estate column: Santa Barbara-based multifamily property investment firm Nevins Adams Lewbel Schell, or NALS, purchased the 292-unit Rolling Oaks luxury apartment complex at 3700 Lyon Road in Fairfield for $52 million, or about $178,000 a dwelling. … Prima Fluer Botanicals of San Rafael signed a five-year lease for the 14,400-square-foot warehouse and offices at 23 Pimentel Ct. in Novato. … An affiliate of San Francisco-based industrial real estate investor Lowenberg Corp. purchased a 101,700-square-foot warehouse in American Canyon, Lowenberg’s ninth North Bay holding. … As part of planned projects around the Bay Area, San Ramon-based gym chain 24 Hour Fitness has been upgrading its North Bay facilities.

TricorBraun acquires Trilogy Glass

SANTA ROSA — As the TricorBraun WinePak division relocates early this month to a much larger, automated warehouse in Solano County, its St. Louis-based parent company today said it acquired wine container competitor Trilogy Glass and Packaging, Inc. of Santa Rosa.

Partnership HealthPlan sets big employment push

FAIRFIELD — Partnership HealthPlan of California said it is undergoing a significant expansion that includes plans to grow its 280-person workforce by as much as 30 percent through 2014, while having created over 60 jobs in 2011.

NorthBay HealthCare gets ‘heart attack hospital’ designation

NorthBay Medical Center has been designated by Solano County as the preferred hospital for heart attack patients, a designation that comes just two months after the 132-bed hospital became the county’s first level III trauma center.

TricorBraun wine group packs for Fairfield

BENICIA — The wine division of St. Louis-based packaging supplier TricorBraun plans to move its Northern California distribution facility to a larger, automated distribution facility in Fairfield early next year.

Kaiser gets trauma designation at Vacaville hospital

VACAVILLE — Kaiser Permanente’s Vacaville Medical Center received official approval by the Solano County Emergency Medical Services Agency to provide level III trauma services.

Fairfield’s Copart to make Texas its corporate headquarters

FAIRFIELD — Copart, Inc., (NASDAQ: CPRT), one of the nation’s leading resellers of salvaged vehicles with an online auction service listing more than 50,000 vehicles per day, is relocating its corporate headquarters to Dallas, Texas, by the end of 2012. No date for the final move has been announced.

Commercial real estate: OnTrac makes big North Bay courier hub expansion

As part of a ramp up of Bay Area service, Phoenix, Ariz.-based regional overnight package courier OnTrac is expanding its North Bay hub. … The Marin County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday could postpone a decision to purchase part of a large San Rafael commercial property to be the new home for the Sheriff’s Department and other emergency services currently located at the Civic Center to the south in San Rafael. … Fairfield-based developer, owner and property manager The Wiseman Co. acquired the 30,000-square-foot class A Westside Professional Building at 2480 Hilborn Road and an adjacent pad. … Groskopf Warehouse & Logistics found a large Napa Valley warehouse for its expansion. … Steve and Judy Mahrt, owners of Petaluma Farms, which produces Judy’s Family Farms organic eggs, are back to buying Petaluma office buildings and converting them back to industrial buildings for business expansion, according to local real estate sources.

TenCate to consolidate 100 employees in Fairfield

FAIRFIELD – TenCate Advanced Composites USA, Inc., a manufacturer of composites for space, aerospace and industrial applications, is moving its Benicia operations currently in three separate buildings to a single 65,000 square foot former warehouse in Fairfield.

Travis Credit Union expands with Metro 1 acquisition

VACAVILLE – After a carefully planned six-month transition, Travis Credit Union has completed its acquisition of Metro 1 Credit Union of Concord.

MV Transportation names Carter Pate as CEO

FAIRFIELD — MV Transportation Inc., the largest private provider of paratransit services and the largest privately owned transportation contracting firm in the U.S., today announced renowned company turnaround artist Carter Pate as chief executive officer and a member of the board of directors, beginning Aug. 15.

Fairfield-based MV Transportation employs more than 13,000 transit professionals in 100 locations and operates more than 190 paratransit, fixed-route, shuttle and Medicaid contracts in 26 states, the District of Columbia and British Columbia.

Copart reports mostly double-digit positive third-quarter growth

FAIRFIELD — Online vehicle auction company Copart Inc. today reported fiscal third-quarter revenue, operating income and net income increased 7.4 percent, 13.7 percent and 12.9 percent, respectively, from a year before.

Commercial Real Estate: Texas REIT pays $33 million for big Fairfield warehouse

One of the North Bay’s largest commercial buildings, a 607,200-square-foot distribution warehouse at 5195 Fermi Drive in Fairfield, sold to US Industrial REIT III, an affiliate of San Antonio, Texas-based real estate investment trust USAA Real Estate Co., for $33.5 million, or about $55 a square foot.

Commercial Real Estate and Construction: Leading commercial real estate broker sees ‘growth seeds’

Sonoma County job growth is leading that of other counties in the state, observed Al Coppin, president of commercial real estate brokerage Keegan & Coppin Co. Inc. He pointed to major leases in the Highway 101 corridor in Sonoma and Marin counties in the past several months: Cyan Optics, Calix, Métier, Central Payment Corp., BioMarin Pharmaceutical, ProSight Specialty Insurance and Amy’s Kitchen.

Napa-Solano industrial: Year-end activity bodes well for the rest of the year

Industrial markets in Napa and Solano counties overall continued to be sluggish throughout 2010 because of poor economic conditions. While several significant lease transactions were completed during the year, a number of large new vacancies nullified any real traction.

Construction: $26 million Roseland school gets funds

Also: Tracking the Target proposals; new phase for Napa Gateway

Kaiser workers vote to stay with SEIU

[Updated: 4 p.m.] CALIFORNIA — Kaiser Permanente employees throughout the state voted to remain with the Service Employees International Union–United Healthcare Workers West instead of joining its rival offshoot, the National Union of Healthcare Workers, according to the National Labor Relations Board.

NUHW is considering a legal challenge to the election.

Residential Real Estate: William Lyon Homes opens 100-home Enclave in Fairfield

“The Solano County housing market is on the road to recovery,” said a recent study by the California Building Industry Association. The report shows that Solano County is among the top six counties in California for new home construction, growing 20 percent over the last 12 months.

NorthBay Healthcare preparing for Fairfield hospital trauma center

FAIRFIELD – NorthBay Heathcare is developing a plan to open Solano County’s first trauma center, which could be operational by early 2012 and would lessen the need to send seriously wounded patients to neighboring counties.

From linens to insurance, companies expand

La Tavola, ProSight, Central Payment add space, markets; Frank-Lin, Kiewit to move to the North Bay: From linen rentals to financial transaction processing to insurance underwriting to alcoholic beverage production to heavy construction, several companies in various industries have relocated or expanded in the North Bay this year.