North Bay Business Journal

Seven years after making the largest single purchase of North Bay commercial real estate — 1.43 million square feet of mostly office space for $263 million — Equity Office Properties is marketing for sale all the properties it still retains in Marin and Sonoma Counties counties. …

As construction progresses toward July 2013 completion of the first part of the 380,000 square feet of retail and commercial space at the East Washington Place regional shopping center at the southwest intersection of East Washington Street and Highway 101, developer Regency Centers has signed a number of shop and junior-anchor leases. Target Corp. earlier this year purchased 10 acres for its 140,000-square-foot anchor store there. …

SANTA ROSA — Increasing competition, along with volatile U.S.-global economies and capital markets, are affecting the way wineries are being financed, according to banking and capital-management experts at the Moss-Adams LLP Wine Industry Financial Roundtable. The quarterly event attracted more than 65 CEOs, CFOs, winery owners and managers to the Vintner’s Inn on May 31.

SAN RAFAEL – Two business incubator programs are now working to foster entrepreneurial companies in San Rafael, after “Renaissance Marin,” a project of San Francisco-based Renaissance Entrepreneurship Center, opened its doors to clients.

A unique summer algebra academy pioneered in Santa Rosa has grown throughout the North Bay, and organizations as far away as Arizona are expressing interest in duplicating the public-private partnership that works to expose English language-learners to real-world applications for math.

SANTA ROSA — The Family Medicine Residency Program at Sutter Medical Center of Santa Rosa announced its incoming class of 2015, selecting 12 medical school graduates out of 618 applicants — about half of the nation’s 1,200 plus applicants in family medicine.

RIO VISTA – Wind farms continue to grow in California, producing carbon-free renewable energy in regions such as Altamont Pass, the Tehachapi Mountains, the San Gorgonio area and at the Montezuma Hills Wind Resource Area in Northern California.

Hospitality & Tourism column: The Thistle Dew Inn in downtown Sonoma has been purchased by new owners, who will rename the property as An Inn 2 Remember, according to Bay Area Development Company, a Walnut Creek-based SBA lender that provided the financing. …

Across California, restaurateurs, chefs and fine diners who fancy foie gras this week face a grim acknowledgement: their goose is cooked. …

Flavor Napa Valley, the star-studded food and wine festival that started last year as means of highlighting the culinary prowess of the region, will be back for a second year, organizers said. …

The Marin Convention and Visitors Bureau will be hosting a Tourism Summit on Thursday, Sept. 20, at Inn Marin in Novato from 10 a..m. to 2 p.m., with an introduction from Mark Essman on local, regional and state tourism trends presented by Visit California. …

The Sonoma County Tourism Business Improvement District (TBID) achieved a return on its investment of $85 for every dollar spent for tourism promotion in 2010. This was higher than the statewide ROI average of $63 for each marketing dollar spent in other TBID’s responding to a statewide survey. Napa Valley’s Tourism Improvement District reported an ROI of $63.80 for every promotional dollar spent, also exceeding the state average.

NAPA – The Concierge Alliance of Napa Valley and Sonoma (CANVAS) is producing the first Napa Valley Hospitality Trade Show at the Charles Krug Winery in St. Helena on July 17.

North Bay financial institutions are increasingly employing the latest generation of Web and mobile technologies, addressing a wave of consumer demand for conveniences that were once only within reach of large, national banks.

Bank of America, N.A. has added a number of new small business bankers to its North Bay staff, part of a national push to bolster services and relationships with small business clients. …

Testifying before a U.S. House of Representatives subcommittee last month, Redwood Credit Union President and CEO Brett Martinez said that statutory limits on business lending for credit unions were limiting those institutions’ ability to meet a current surge in demand and suppressing growth in lending backed by the U.S. Small Business Administration. …

The Federal Home Loan Bank of San Francisco, which provides financing to assist other institutions in home lending, has granted $15,000 to Habitat for Humanity, Sonoma County. …

We recently finished a three-day soiree with our long time friends from Boston, who we have visited frequently on Martha’s Vineyard where their family has had a home for more than 100 years.

As residents of the North Bay, we care about consuming locally-produced goods and patronizing our neighbors’ businesses. Even with our community’s commitment, it seems we are still inundated with goods imported from China. For most Americans, consuming Chinese-made goods is just part of life. Does China’s rising prominence threaten our economic well-being?

JHL Commercial Properties hired Kim Anenson Nicol, RPA, as its new property manager. …

Sonoma County BEST (Building Economic Success Together) selected Mike Purvis as chairman of the board. Replacing former board chairman Randy DeCaminada on the board will be Joshua Townsend, who is the economic development manager for Pacific Gas & Electric. …

Mark J. Popovich, M.D., a specialist in diagnostic radiology, joined Sutter Pacific Medical Foundation. …

Scott Greenwood-Meinert has joined Dickenson Peatman & Fogarty in the firm’s business department at its Napa office. …

Redwood Empire Food Bank hired Cate Steane as director of development. …

Windy Swindt Fernandes has been promoted to project manager at Boylan Point Agency in Santa Rosa. …

The Lares Team (Alison Johnson and Lisa Combs) have joined with Wine Country Group Santa Rosa. …

. Helena-based Wilson Daniels hired Phil Pyrce as vice president of marketing and brand management of its Italian portfolio. …

Angwin-based Ladera Vineyards hired Natalie Bullion as the winery’s new director of consumer sales and hospitality. …

Commercial real estate leases and sales in the north San Francisco Bay area

Events of interest to the business community in the north San Francisco Bay Area