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.

Larkspur mobile-banking startup gets $18 million

LARKSPUR [Updated, Nov. 6, 12:10 p.m.] — mFoundry, a fast-growing provider of mobile banking and payments services, today said it received $18 million in growth capital. The new funds will allow the company to add 60 employees to its workforce of 100. The 7-year-old company has received $50 million in funding so far.

SEC alleges Larkspur fund manager ‘side pocketed’ $12 million

The Securities and Exchange Commission today charged Bay Area hedge fund manager Larry Goldfarb and with concealing more than $12 million in investment proceeds that he owed investors in his fund.

Wine: Smaller decline in winegrape crop surprises some

Some winegrape crop watchers were expecting 2010 North Coast tonnage to be 10 percent to 30 percent below the size of the big 2009 harvest because of late-season heat and rain damage.

Cornish & Carey Commercial to merge with N.Y. brokerage

LARKSPUR and SANTA ROSA — Santa Clara-based Cornish & Carey Commercial today said it will merge its 13 real estate brokerage offices, including two new ones in the North Bay, next month with Newmark Knight Frank, a New York-based commercial real estate brokerage and advisory.

LRG Capital acquires Fairfax shopping center

FAIRFAX — LRG Capital Real Estate Partners I Fund, managed by a commercial real estate investment subsidiary of Larkspur-based LRG Capital Group, acquired the 66,100-square-foot Fair-Anselm Plaza retail and office center.

The investment fund, acting as Fairfax Center Properties LLC, on Monday entered into a lease agreement with an option to purchase the 40-year-old shopping center from Fair-Anselm Center Inc., according to LRG Capital Group and public records.

Commercial Real Estate: Online retailer Athleta plans to test store in Strawberry Village

San Francisco-based apparel giant Gap plans to test whether followers of its Petaluma-based Athleta online brand want to be able to “get physical” with the athlete-oriented women’s activewear before they purchase.

Spotlight: Litigation Attorneys and Mediators

(Listed alphabetically by firm name)

Marin County office: Down, but spared the worst

As has been reported widely, the 2009 Marin County office market was difficult for building owners as transactions dwindled to a trickle and the national severe slowing of the economy visited Marin County, although not as severely as many other national and even Bay Area markets.

Marin County retail: Center renovations help maintain area’s resiliency

The Marin County retail shopping centers market ended 2009 in a healthy condition with a vacancy of 6.3 percent compared with the balance of the state. This market kept its resiliency in 2009 despite the economic troubles, reporting no change in vacancy year-over-year.

Cornish & Carey nabs 17 agents

LARKSPUR and SANTA ROSA – Cornish & Carey Commercial, which has 11 offices in the greater Bay Area, is making a big move into North Bay commercial real estate brokerage with two offices and 17 agents, almost all of them formerly affiliated with Orion Partners.

Larkspur Landing center to get facelift

LARKSPUR — The new owner of Larkspur Landing Shopping Center, now called Marin Country Mart, is planning a $5 million renovation next year designed to restore the property’s rural Marin look and mostly retail configuration.

CONSTRUCTION PROJECT PROFILES: University dorms; Sutter in Marin; assisted living wing; affordable apartments

Editor’s note: The Business Journal features profiles of North Bay construction projects that are complete or nearly so. Send details to jquackenbush@busjrnl.com or fax to 707-521-5292.

Larkspur restaurant moves to lower-priced neighborhood model

LARKSPUR – The founders of the long-established fine-dining Lark Creek Inn resolved to shift its focus this year in light of the recession and will unveil its new “neighborhood dining model” called The Tavern at Lark Creek.