(This spotlight on major commercial developers is comprised of companies and their leadership that have undertaken major projects in the North Bay. They are listed first by county and then alphabetically by company.)
Marin CountyWick Polite, president, Seagate Properties Inc.980 Fifth Ave., San Rafael 94901; 415-455-0300; seagateprop.com
[caption id="attachment_64236" align="alignleft" width="180"] Wick Polite[/caption]
North Bay project: San Rafael Corporate Center, San Rafael -- third phase: an 80,000-square-foot class A office building; to be built sometime in the next three years.
Seagate owns and manages about 3 million square feet of office, industrial and retail space as well as several hundred apartments in mostly Western states. That includes about a half-million square feet of Marin properties such as Montecito Plaza Shopping Center in San Rafael.
Seagate and the asset-management division of New York-based JPMorgan Chase & Co. acquired San Rafael Corporate Center in mid-2007. The first two four-story buildings totaling 155,000 square feet were finished in 2001 by a previous owner and are mostly occupied, according to Mr. Polite. The third and fourth buildings, each with 80,000 square feet, and a parking garage were completed in 2009.
The third and final phase of the five-building, 400,000-square-foot class A office development on 13 acres of central San Rafael was approved for medical offices in 68,000 square feet of the development to accommodate physician offices or a small clinic, space for which are in demand in the county, according to Mr. Polite.
BioMarin signed a 10-year lease for 120,383 square feet of office space in two buildings at San Rafael Corporate Center -- all of previously vacant 770 Lindaro St. and two floors of of 790 Lindaro -- and moved 300 employees into the space in September 2012.Dennis Allen, managing Partner, Urban OneP.O. Box 71128, Los Angeles 90071; 213-618-9781; urbanone.com
[caption id="attachment_64237" align="alignright" width="180"] Dennis Allen[/caption]
North Bay project: Hanna Ranch, Novato -- develop 19 acres south of Vintage Oaks Shopping Center with a three- and four-story hotel with 116 rooms, a single-story 13,500-square-foot retail building, a 42,000-square-foot two-story building with offices over shops, two 5,000-square-foot restaurant sites and about 10.5 acres of hillside parkland; approved in December 2011; estimated cost $30 million
With a background in real estate investment analysis, acquisition and development with The Kor Group, Starpoint Properties and UBS, Dennis Allen, 40, started Urban One to manage complex development projects.
Pacific Star Capital LLC of Los Angeles, acting as Hanna Novato LLC, brought in Urban One after it acquired the Hanna Ranch property in mid-2008 from San Francisco-based Wilson Meany Sullivan, which was unsuccessful in getting approval for a 130,000-square-foot The Home Depot store to anchor a retail development on the site. Urban One took a different approach, with lower-key buildings proposed to complement a pond and the slopes of the property.Napa CountyDouglas Pope, managing member, Headwaters Development Co. LLC50 Fullerton Ct., Ste. 203, Sacramento 95825; 916-564-8899; headwaterscompanies.com
North Bay project: Napa Commerce Center Industrial Park, south of Devlin Road at South Kelly Road, American Canyon-- 218-acre joint venture with Deutsche Bank's RREEF group; up to 2 million square feet of commercial space in buildings ranging in size from 50,000 to 400,000 square feet; draft EIR under review and development agreement under discussion.
The first 646,000-square-foot warehouse was put on hold in 2010, but an overpass across the railroad tracks was completed and Devlin Road was extended onto the property. A draft environmental impact report was circulated for comments in 2012, and city officials started negotiating a development agreement early this year.Mark Taylor, partner, McMorgan & CompanyOne Front St., Ste. 500, San Francisco 94111; 415-788-9300; mcmorgan.com
[caption id="attachment_82558" align="alignleft" width="200"] Mark Taylor[/caption]
North Bay project: Greenwood Business Park, 1535 Airport Rd., Napa -- first phase: 228,000-square-foot warehouse; second phase: 75,000-square-foot warehouse; entitled, speculative construction of the first phase in 2013--2014; estimated cost: $20 million-plus
MNCVAD-Ind Greenwood CA, LLC, managed by McMorgan & Company and New York Life Real Estate Investors, purchased the 18-acre former Greenwood Commerce Center project at 1535 Airport Rd. near Napa County Airport from a lender on July 30 for an undisclosed amount. Sierra View Construction and The Pigman Cos. as Napa Gateway Holdings had bought the property in early 2008 and secured entitlements before a lender foreclosed in early 2010.