North Bay Business Journal

MILL VALLEY — Thompson Dorfman Partners, LLC, today said it plans to spend $500 million in the next three years building multifamily and mixed-use developments in Northern California and hired a veteran of such projects to oversee the expansion.

The 14-year-old company hired Gillian Sutton Cho as vice president of development to manage acquisition and entitlement of projects, including almost 1,200 Bay Area units in design, entitlement or construction.

SEBASTOPOL — FlashCo Manufacturing, a fabricator of roof-penetration details with integrated flashing designed to trim installation time and enhance waterproofing, is doubling the size of its headquarters plant in a move to Santa Rosa.

CORTE MADERA — A 126-unit vacant multifamily complex on a southern Marin County hillside overlooking the Richmond-San Rafael Bridge and San Francisco Bay is getting a $32.6 million makeover to have luxury apartments ready for tenants in the latter half of next year.

SANTA ROSA — The Howard residence in the Mayacama Timbers Resort community in the Shiloh Hills is a magnificent single-family home built on a two-acre lot that has been sited to maximize valley vistas of Windsor and Santa Rosa.

GUERNEVILLE — An effort to bring long-term affordable and assisted housing to western Sonoma County came to a close in March, as Luther Burbank Housing and its development partners cut the ribbon on the 48-unit Fife Creek Commons project in Guerneville.

NOVATO — Blu Homes, a Vallejo and Massachusetts-based manufacturer of energy efficient, prefabricated homes, has entered into an agreement with Homeward Bound of Marin to construct a $4 million affordable and supportive housing project in Novato.

The Burbank Housing Development Corporation has four affordable ownership and rental communities in various predevelopment and final construction stages in Petaluma, Santa Rosa, Sebastopol and Windsor.

PETALUMA — Phase 2 of the Vintage Chateau affordable housing community for seniors 55 and older is set for occupancy this month.

SANTA ROSA — Construction of a 52-unit, $12.8 million affordable housing and commercial project in Downtown Santa Rosa is expected to go forward this September, funded by new financing and credits after project developers were unable to obtain highly sought-after affordable housing funds to begin construction in 2010.

SAN RAFAEL — Real estate investors today said they bought 82 recently completed luxury apartments in San Rafael in a $36.5 million bankruptcy court sale.

NOVATO – Homeward Bound of Marin, the Novato-based provider of shelter and services for homeless individuals and families in Marin County, announced today that it will develop a cluster of small homes for low-income working families on a .75-acre parcel in Southern Novato.

SONOMA COUNTY – Sonoma County is set to add a number of new affordable housing units to its roster, with last Friday’s groundbreaking for Burbank Housing’s 66-unit Logan Place in Petaluma the latest in a number of developments occurring around the county’s Affordable Housing Week.

Denver-based Apartment Investment and Management Co. (NYSE: AIV) is betting about $65 million on the renovation of the 126-unit vacant apartment complex in Corte Madera, amounting to $516,000 a unit. Also: Rowland Plaza to be refi’ed not sold; San Rafael Corporate Center gets medical office rezoning; Deer Creek Village courts Friedman’s, Home Depot; Santa Rosa office short-sale lands big tenant.

SANTA ROSA — Homebuilder Meritage Homes worked for two years on research and development to create an energy-efficient home that could have a zero carbon footprint but not cost more or reduce comfort.

SANTA ROSA — Builder Jim Murphy & Associates was featured in a lavish spread by Custom Home Magazine, which also honored the local building company by naming it Custom Home Builder of the Year.

ST. HELENA — The 12,000-square-foot Vineyard Lodge dorm expansion at the Culinary Institute of America is LEED Gold certified and fully occupied by 60 new culinary students from all across the country.

“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.

Project profiles for Club One at Petaluma, Fairfield Inn & Suites in Sebastopol and Meadows at Fountaingrove in Santa Rosa.

Set among oaks high atop the rolling hills north of Santa Rosa overlooking Fountain Grove Lake, Varenna is a gated retirement community offering residents beauty, comfort and security within a complex of Mediterranean-style buildings combining a classic wine country architectural motif with a hint of Italian influence.

New luxury condo developments in urban settings are few and far between these days, especially in a price range that many potential buyers can afford. St. James Properties has taken the lead in this market by developing new multifamily Celsius 44 homes for sale within the Petaluma downtown.