Developers are listed by county in alphabetical order by firm.
View the photo gallery.
SONOMA COUNTYLarry Wasem, Managing General Partner, Airport Business Center
414 Aviation Blvd., Santa Rosa 95403; 707-578-5344; www.airportbusinesscenter.com
North Bay project: Airport Business Center phase 7, Santa Rosa -- the latest expansion to the 463-acre business park has 17 acres of industrial land in Windsor.
Larry Wasem and Richard Coombs started Airport Business Center, which is the North Bay's largest business park, located near Charles M. Schulz--Sonoma County Airport north of Santa Rosa. The park has about 30 remaining developable acres, nine of which are in a 17-acre new phase of the development.
The partnership's other holdings include the 50 Santa Rosa Ave. office building and two movie theaters in downtown Santa Rosa as well as golf courses in Windsor and Petaluma.
The soured economy has challenged attraction and retention of tenants amid ample inexpensive options in the market, according to Mr. Wasem.
However, the organization has renewed leases with significant tenants and landed build-to-suit deals, including three in the new phase of Airport Business Center and two more possibly for the rest of that land. The key has been the organization's ability to get construction financing and offer tenant-improvement allowances at a time when some property owners aren't financially able to do so, he said.
It’s "something I wouldn't have predicted that I'd be able to compete because they don't have enough money to put in tenants," Mr. Wasem said.
Matt White, President and CEO, Basin Street Properties
1383 N. McDowell Blvd., Ste. 200, Petaluma 94954; 707-795-4477; www.basin-street.com
North Bay projects: Approvals to build 300,000 square feet of office buildings at Fountaingrove Executive Center in northeast Santa Rosa, Harvest Business Center by Charles M. Schulz--Sonoma County Airport, Redwood Business Center in northeast Petaluma and Petaluma Marina Office Center in southeast Petaluma
Matt White joined Basin Street Properties in 1994, when it was called G&W Management and he was involved in industrial development. He then moved to chief financial officer and finally to the top executive spot.
The company started in 1974 with the development of Redwood Business Park in Petaluma and expanded in the late 1990s to Novato, Napa and Santa Rosa. In 2005 Equity Office purchased 1.45 million square feet of office space in Sonoma and Marin counties for $270 million, giving Basin Street capital for expansion into hospitality, multifamily, retail and mixed-use projects in Petaluma, Windsor, Reno, Nev., then Sacramento. That included a transformation of an industrial section of downtown Petaluma into a movie theater-anchored mixed-use project.
Though the company headquarters moved to Reno last year, Basin Street is eyeing commercial real estate opportunities in Sonoma County, where the remaining 585,000 square feet of commercial space in the portfolio is 90 percent occupied, according to Mr. White. He noted that vacancy rates in the county are less ominous after subtracting out "functionally obsolete" office buildings built to fit businesses wanting to set up large operations amid a deep tech talent pool and cheap housing.
"In normal times, we'd be looking to pull the trigger to build another building," he said. "It's not going to happen with the current credit markets. We do have opportunities in Sonoma County, but it's not a long list. It's more about buying other people's problems or [joint-venturing] in other people's challenges, rather than ground-up construction."
Sonoma County commercial property is "well-positioned" for the next five years, and new construction likely won't return significantly until 2012, according to Mr. White. He views the difficulties in approving new business parks to be prohibitive and the lack of substantial overbuilding unfortunately thanks to the 2001 recession that hit the telecommunications and other high-tech companies in the county hard.
Brigitta Brondi, President, Brondi Development
3625 Westwind Blvd., Santa Rosa 95403; 707-579-2400; www.westwind-businesspark.com
North Bay project: Westwind Business Park, Santa Rosa -- 80-acre master planned development with the remaining 11 building pads prepared for immediate construction of up to 700,000 square feet of office and flex space
Brad Baker, President and CEO, Codding Enterprises
1400 Valley House Dr., Rohnert Park 94928; 707-795-3550; www.sonomamountainvillage.com
North Bay projects: Sonoma Mountain Village, Rohnert Park -- 175 acres; 839,000 square feet of commercial, office and retail space, including 500,000 square feet of existing office and warehouse space; planned urban village with 951 multifamily units and 743 single-family homes; approved; first phase possibly could start in 2011-12. Coddingtown, Santa Rosa -- 930,000-square-foot mall built in 1960; undergone upgrades, including a new anchor tenant; eyed for possible redevelopment. Former Los Robles Lodge site, Santa Rosa -- 3.5 acres south of Coddingtown envisioned for multifamily housing or retail; existing buildings are being demolished and planning has begun.