North Bay Business Journal

Technology and social media wages are being spent here in wine clubs and hospitality. Eventually, some of those employees will buy houses in the North Bay. That intellectual capital will create companies, some starting in the North Bay or moving here.

Going forward, we see substantial increases in sales of commercial real estate properties as investors realize we are at the trough of the market, with prices on the rise.

San Rafael and Novato were the most active Marin cities in terms of square feet leased in 2012. Absent unexpected new major additions of user-controlled space, we expect a continued gradual decrease in vacancy in 2013. Asking rents will edge higher as additional buildings raise asking rental rates.

The balance of power in the office market in southern and central Marin County continues to move in favor of landlords.

Looking forward into 2013, we are tracking an increase in demand over historical levels.

The Santa Rosa office market continues to be challenging for property owners with vacancies. While higher than the doldrums of 2009–2010, tenant touring activity continues to be modest. Tenants still have the ability to take advantage of opportunities in the market to upgrade to higher quality space and in most cases are able to do so while lowering their occupancy expenses.

The economy continues to recover slowly, but we are experiencing positive growth in Petaluma. 2012 was a critical year. It appears to have been a turning point for Petaluma commercial real estate.

Though the amount of office and industrial real estate available for lease remained at relatively high levels in 2012, the need for certain types of space could drive build-to-suit office projects in Sonoma County, distribution warehouses in Napa County and smaller office suites in large Marin County spaces.

SANTA ROSA — A Southern California real estate investment trust for medical office buildings purchased the 100,125-square-foot Sutter North Bay Health Plaza building, mostly occupied by Sutter Health, fronting on the west side of Highway 101 in northwest Santa Rosa.

The biggest Marin leases of 2012 have been in high-technology, specifically biotechnology and software, but leasing activity has been significantly slower than in San Francisco.

SANTA ROSA — Medtronic’s CardioVascular division will again occupy 62,000 square feet next door to its current operations at the Airport Business Center.

SANTA ROSA — Basin Street Properties has regained its position as the largest owner of commercial real estate in Sonoma County with the repurchase of 17 Santa Rosa office buildings it sold seven years ago.

SANTA ROSA — Adventist Health’s Northern California Network will move a significant portion of its administrative functions to Santa Rosa, where it recently leased more than 26,200 square feet of space near Charles M. Schulz–Sonoma County Airport.

The new facility will be home to approximately 120 employees, most of whom will be transferred from current medical campus-based positions in Napa, Lake, Solano and Mendocino counties.

SAN RAFAEL — After vacating some headquarters space in Marin over the past several years, software maker Autodesk Inc. (NYSE: ADSK) is regaining some of its local presence.

“In conjunction with our plans for expansion in San Francisco, Autodesk continues to build on our 30-year history in Marin by expanding our headquarters in San Rafael,” said a spokesman.

NAPA — The envisioned shift of the shuttered 80,000-square-foot Copia: The American Center for Wine, Food and the Arts building near downtown Napa from exhibition space to high-end corporate quarters isn’t such a stretch, according to a consultant for the owner.

The sales of 20 mostly office buildings in Marin and Sonoma counties, totaling 951,000 square feet, by Chicago-based Equity Office and Berg Holdings of Sausalito are moving closer to completion. …

The Dowling-Bracco Team of Cushman & Wakefield in San Rafael just won the marketing contract for Copia in Napa and is positioning the two-story, steel-framed building at 500 First St. as a potential corporate headquarters site. …

Two Grubb & Ellis agents join Colliers International in Fairfield.

Two major owners of commercial property in Marin and Sonoma counties have put 20 office buildings with 951,000 square feet on the market for sale in recent weeks in what some market watchers are anticipating will test institutional investor views of the long-term outlook for the North Bay business community.

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

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

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

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

SANTA ROSA — The office market in the North Bay’s largest city appears to have stabilized as tour activity and closed transactions have increased substantially compared to 2008–2010 levels. Property owners continue to compete for tenants at rental rates 10 percent–20 percent below the market peak, but competition appears to be that of a more typical market rather landlord desperation seen in recent years.