When American Assets acquired the Fireman’s Fund campus in Novato, most observers thought the San Diego real estate investment firm was simply buying a Class A office property with a strong cash flow.
The seller, American Financial Realty Trust, wanted to get rid of the property because it wasn’t a good fit with the rest of its portfolio. But for American Assets, the 65-acre complex fit like a glove. The three-building, 710,000-square-foot campus was 100 percent leased to Fireman’s Fund, the American branch of the German insurer Allianz. In short, the campus was a cash cow, and the acquisition certainly seemed to shine.
As it turns out, however, American Assets has larger plans for the office complex. CEO John Chamberlain has been courting the movers and shakers in Novato. School district officials have found themselves invited to talk about what the community needs. Mayor Pat Eklund and Councilwomen Jeanne MacLeamy, Carole Dillon-Knutson and Madeline Keller have huddled regarding what the city would consider allowing on the property. Former mayor Susan Stompe and former city councilmember Ernie Gray have been consulted as to what kind of project might find support in Marin’s northern most city.
While no formal proposal has been submitted to the planning department, American’s talked about a 100-room upscale hotel, a new restaurant, necessity retail and possible rental housing.
The company would also like to ditch the existing parking in favor of a trio of parking structures. After this, however, the project begins to sound like a “Christmas tree bill” in congress, where everybody in a power tie hangs a favorite ornament. Other discussed amenities include a community center, open space, a community swimming pool, even playing fields.
Any project would require some heavy lifting at City Hall, as a mixed-use project would call for rezoning and land use amendments. Chamberlain and American have shown they know how to lobby the community and count votes at the council. And there’s no doubt a 100-room hotel is music to the ears of city administrators, who know how to compute transit occupancy tax and cash flow into city coffers.
But the project will see its share of critics. Workforce housing advocates will push hard for a slug of units. Adding any traffic to Highway 101 will make a difficult situation even worse. And not very far to the north of Fireman’s Fund, Campus Property Group already has plans for a 550,000-square-foot mixed-use development. San Rafael-based Campus was, at one time, including a hotel in its project, although where the plans are in the process right now is unclear.
Hello and goodbye
For years, the knock on Marin was that it was a place to create a business but not a location to grow one. At one time, it was so bad, the San Rafael Chamber of Commerce kept a running total of businesses that left for greener pastures—more often than not, north to Sonoma County. A combination of high-priced property and space, glacially paced entitlement processes and the perception that business expansion is unwelcome in Marin has caused some businesses to look north or else east to Point Richmond.
Today, Marin is managing to hold on to more companies. Republic of Tea will leave its nest at 8 Digital Drive in Novato for 4,500 square feet of space in Hangar 5 at Hamilton Landing.
The gourmet tea company (created by the founders of Banana Republic) will take its 10 employees to the fastest-growing corporate address in Marin. Hamilton Landing’s converted hangars have proven to be a status location, competing with San Rafael Corporate Center. Other tenants at Hamilton include Smith and Hawken, Sony Imageworks and Birkenstock.
Health Net’s behavioral health subsidiary, MHN, isn’t only staying in Marin, it’s shutting down a Point Richmond location and bringing some of that staff here. MHN furnishes services to companies dealing with mental health programs, chemical dependency and the like. MHN is moving into a new building on Kerner Avenue in San Rafael’s Canal district. In the process, the company will also close a location on Canal Avenue.
A big name retailer who left Marin last year, Crate and Barrel, is on the way back. The houseware retailer left Marin’s premier mall, the Village at Corte Madera, when it couldn’t acquire more room. But C&B is now scheduled to open up shop next year in Corte Madera’s Town Center—the shopping center on the other side of Highway 101 from the Village. In recent years, the Town Center has become the place to shop for the home. Landing Crate and Barrel as tenants is a coup. To make room, Z Gallerie is moving into a space formerly occupied by bankrupt retailer Bombay Company.
With that said, not every company looking to grow stays in Marin. Gardener’s Guild and its 160 employees left for the greener grass of Point Richmond in March. The new location is big enough for offices and a training facility, vehicle storage and room for future expansion. Another factor in leaving Marin was that the company’s mix of business has changed. The Guild began as a residential landscape business, but today, 40 percent of its revenues are derived from landscaping commercial properties. Two of its larger clients are the Village in Corte Madera and Agilent Technologies in Santa Rosa.
Advertising firm Duncan/Channon left Marin for different reasons. The company found it was having a tough time attracting young talent to Marin, an area that recent college grads perceive as “way out in the ’burbs.” So, though Marin resident and general manager Andy Berkenfield loved living where he worked, he and partners Parker Channon and Robert Duncan relocated to San Francisco’s financial district. The firm has an extensive client list, including locals Clos du Bois and Birkenstock.
