It’s déjà vu all over again. Real Goods Solar is back in San Rafael after moving its headquarters to Campbell last year. The 200-person company also has a new CEO who was the previous CEO before the newer CEO jumped/was pushed out the door. Confused? Let me help.
Real Goods Solar specializes in solar panel installation, though you could make a case that it’s in the business of buying up businesses in that niche. In the last year and a half, Real Goods has acquired Marin Solar, portions of Carlson Solar, Independent Energy Systems of Santa Cruz and Regrid Power, which was based in Campbell. The 2008 acquisition of Regrid made things complicated.
To begin with, Real Goods paid $3.8 million in cash plus 2.047 million in Real Goods shares for Regrid, as well as agreeing to put Regrid’s Tom McCalmont in the CEO seat.
The McCalmont move was never meant to be a serious change of leadership, however, as the SEC acquisition filing shows March 2010 was the deadline for McCalmont to take his leave. But rumbling surfaced this year and the board sent him away in November. John Schaeffer, formerly the president and one-time CEO, is once again the head honcho.
Real Goods, which is owned by Gaiam Inc. of Colorado and has locations in Hopland, Santa Rosa, Fresno, Murietta, Campbell, Santa Cruz and Richmond, is looking to hire and expand. “We’re always looking for opportunities with the right fit,” says Eric Zach, CFO for Real Goods and a one-time CEO.
Checking in
Don’t look now, but the hotel-based project at Hanna Ranch in Novato is showing early signs of actually gaining approval. The 19-acre parcel—north of the Highway 37 exit at Highway 101 and south of Vintage Oaks Shopping Center—was purchased last year by Los Angeles-based Pacific Star Capital. The legal entity that owned the property was Blue Vista Capital, a real estate investment firm out of Santa Monica, and Hanna Novato (no relationship to Hannah Montana).
The Hanna Ranch site has been a difficult fit in terms of finding a project that gains the blessing of the city and the public. A proposed Home Depot store was roundly sent packing in light of the massive reconfiguration of the property. The design review committee was impressed with the latest proposal, a five-building, mixed-use project that includes two retail buildings, two restaurants and a 116-room hotel.
The project faces some environmental hurdles as the environmental impact report (EIR) process will take at least a year, but that’s perhaps the least of the worries for Urban One, the Los Angeles outfit looking to become Costco’s neighbor.
While cities often fall in love with hotel projects (cities always collect transient occupancy taxes equal to 10 or 15 percent of the room rates), Novato may want to look at this one again. Within a two-minute drive of Hanna Ranch, the discerning traveler can find Inn Marin, Novato Oaks Best Western, Econo Lodge and Courtyard by Marriott, to say nothing of the Travelodge and the Days Inn north of Hanna Ranch. Then there’s the Fireman’s Fund project to the north, which also includes plans for a new hotel.
Don’t get me wrong: I love Novato. But you have to ask yourself just how many hotel rooms the place needs? This is Novato, not Las Vegas. The city and the developers need to ask how many new visitors the property would draw as opposed to simply slicing the visitor pie thinner for existing hotels?
Escape from Vallejo
The San Rafael Chamber of Commerce (SRCC) was able to secure the services of Rick Wells to fill its CEO spot vacated by Talia Hart’s departure for Irvine. For Wells, he had to roll up Highway 37, as his last gig was the Vallejo Chamber’s CEO position. Besides the seven years he spent in Vallejo, Wells was once director of membership for the Napa Chamber of Commerce.
Will Rigney, SRCC board president, bragged to the Marin IJ, “We’re thrilled that Rick has decided to join us at the San Rafael Chamber. The board of directors look forward to charting a new course with Rick at the helm, and we’re sure the membership will be enthused by Rick’s appointment.”
A Throckmorton tale
It isn’t every day a Mill Valley restaurant receives a star from the Michelin Bay Area & Wine Country Guide. And it’s even more rare when that same eatery shuts down…and is purchased by two celebrities. But that’s exactly what happened to the iconic El Paseo Restaurant, the classic romantic retreat pushed back from the Mill Valley Theater on Throckmorton Avenue. The restaurant, a long-time standby for San Franciscans looking to find candlelight on the other side of the Golden Gate, picked up its first Michelin star just in time for owners Keiko Takahashi and Seigo Tekei to turn the keys over to new proprietors Sammy Hagar and Tyler Florence. Look for the pair to incorporate organics with house-aged steaks, homemade rustic breads and a high-end wine list.
Still in Mill Valley, on the same street, in fact, Wilkes Bashford closed his Wilkes Sport shop in less than high fashion. Seems the upscale clothing shop was posting tough numbers, so Bashford had one of his underlings shut the business down one morning at the end of September without so much as a heads up to the staff. One employee who had been with Bashford for a dozen years allegedly walked without severance. November saw Bashford file for bankruptcy on a Monday and announce on Wednesday that his business had been bought by Mitchells/Richards/Marshs, an East Coast clothier. The sale came complete with a cozy exec position for Wilkes.
Thank God, otherwise who would help former San Francisco Mayor Willie Brown buy his Brioni?
