“As one of the largest institutional properties in this affluent submarket, Carlmont Woods will offer best-in-class amenities and services compared to many of the smaller competitors in the immediate area,” said GA’s Peter Staver.

San Francisco, CA (PRWEB) August 29, 2013

Grosvenor Americas (GA) has acquired Carlmont Woods Apartments in Belmont, CA, an affluent suburb within the San Francisco Bay Peninsula. This 11.5-acre garden apartment community with 195 studio and one-bedroom apartments was built in 1971 and enjoys an excellent location just 13 miles south of the San Francisco International Airport and only five minutes from both US 101 and I-280, the two major north-south freeways leading to downtown San Francisco, Palo Alto, Mountain View, and San Jose.

As part of the San Mateo submarket, Carlmont Woods is convenient to major high-tech employment centers including Oracle, Electronic Arts, Genentech, Sony, Visa, Gilead Sciences, and Life Technologies. While easily accessible to freeways and public transportation, Carlton Woods offers a low-density, quiet living environment within easy reach of extensive parkland, trails, and other outdoor recreational amenities.

GA plans to renovate the community’s apartment interiors and common amenities to a modern standard.

“This is Grosvenor’s first apartment acquisition in the Bay Area,” remarked James Delmotte, Senior Vice President, Investment, Grosvenor Americas. “We hope to continue to grow our multifamily portfolio in the future.”

“This represents a unique opportunity to acquire a low-density asset in the Bay Area,” added Peter Staver, Investments, Grosvenor Americas. “As one of the largest institutional properties in this affluent submarket, Carlmont Woods will offer best-in-class amenities and services compared to many of the smaller competitors in the immediate area.”

The property was marketed by Kara Wiard, Director at Eastdil Secured.

With the Carlmont Woods acquisition, GA now owns (wholly or in joint venture partnerships) almost 2,400 multifamily rental units in the US and Canada. The US holdings are focused on the San Francisco Bay and Puget Sound areas.

Grosvenor is a privately-owned property group, active in some of the world’s most dynamic cities with 19 offices in 12 countries and assets in a total of 17 countries. The Group operates and invests in three different business areas; direct proprietary investment in real estate through our Operating Companies in Britain Ireland, the Americas and Asia Pacific; indirect proprietary investment in real estate managed by others, which is the responsibility of the holding company; and our international fund management Operating Company – Grosvenor Fund Management – which manages capital on behalf of investors. As of December 31, 2012, the Group had total assets under management of US$19.9bn. Unusually for a private company, Grosvenor publishes a full Annual Report Accounts, available at: http://www.grosvenor.com.

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Article source: http://www.prweb.com/releases/2013/8/prweb11072608.htm

The group plans to open a biotech incubator twice the size in South San Francisco, near Genentech’s campus, by the middle of 2013. They’re searching for a third Bay Area property to turn into a 200,000-square-foot space for clean-tech companies next year.

By the time they’re done, the combined incubators will hold space, for startups, greater than seven football fields, or enough to occupy about one-fifth of the Empire State Building. All these offices and labs are meant to house young companies eager to do business in China, and Chinese startups expanding to the U.S.

Hanhai zPark is scouting spaces in Boston and other cities, as well. “There’s a huge demand from cities all over the U.S. that they need investors from China to grow their industries and jobs,” says Victor Wang, president of Hanhai zPark.

The money flowing from China to buy U.S. properties and companies reached a record $6.5 billion last year, up 17 percent from a year earlier, according to Rhodium Group, a research and advisory firm.

Hanhai zPark isn’t the first China-focused incubator to open in Silicon Valley last year: InnoSpring, a Santa Clara space whose backers include Chinese real estate developers, opened a few months earlier.

Why park big new incubators in an area already packed with them? Existing ties between China and the Bay Area make Silicon Valley a natural home to ventures like Hanhai zPark. Many Chinese-born entrepreneurs go to Stanford or work at U.S. tech companies in the valley.

Stanford connection

Wang, himself a native of Harbin, in northern China, went to Stanford business school before starting his own health IT venture. About a year and a half ago, leaders from Hanhai, a privately held operator of five big business incubators in China, and zPark, a state-owned developer of the largest science and tech park in China, approached him about running a space for startups in the U.S. Xi Jinping, China’s incoming president, and Vice President Joe Biden touted the deal during meetings in Los Angeles and Washington last year.

The space available may be growing faster than demand. Hanhai zPark has about 40 tenants so far, but it has room for 100 or 200, depending on the space they need. About a quarter of the tenants are American companies, many founded by Chinese immigrants or Americans of Chinese heritage, Wang says. The rest are Chinese companies exploring the U.S. market.

On top of offering the usual incubator services, such as legal and accounting help, Hanhai zPark will invest directly in some of its tenant companies through a $5 million angel fund. It will also make introductions to people in business and government on the mainland. “We’ll connect (startups’) needs to the Chinese partners in different cities,” Wang says.

Seeking investors

Those connections, along with ample capital, are the main attraction for American companies considering seeking investors from China. “That differentiates them from other venture investors, particularly in sectors where there’s a high political risk, like digital services,” says Thilo Hanemann, research director at Rhodium Group, who tracks Chinese investment flows.

That can help startups crack a market where even multinationals such as Google have stumbled. Still, companies face risks doing business on the mainland, where the legal protections taken for granted in the U.S. and Europe don’t exist. In China, “there’s no rule of law that protects individuals and companies against the government,” Hanemann says.

Expect the pace of Chinese investment in the U.S. to accelerate. Hanemann notes that while the growth in cross-border investment gets a lot of attention, China is really playing catch up. “If you think about China as the world’s second-largest economy, the right question to ask is why have they not been more active?” he says.

Part of the reason is that the government has only recently made it easier for wealth to move beyond China’s borders. “There’s a lot of channels through which Chinese corporations and funds can shovel money into the U.S. now,” Hanemann says.

John Tozzi is a Bloomberg Businessweek reporter. E-mail: jtozzi@bloomberg.net

Article source: http://www.sfgate.com/technology/article/Chinese-incubators-growing-in-Bay-Area-4343918.php

Heralded by the Obama White House’s Better Building Challenge that seeks 20 percent energy reductions by 2020, the California Best Buildings Challenge tasks participants to reach 20 percent reductions in energy, water and waste in existing commercial buildings in just two years!

Seven new companies, including Bayer, Integral Group, Lockheed Martin, Method, Onyx Pharmaceuticals, Webcor Builders and XL Construction will join existing participants Adobe, Genentech, Google, Prudential Real Estate Investors, SAP and Zynga. Together the companies own or operate more than six million square feet of commercial building space.

Rick Fedrizzi, president, CEO and founding chairman of the USGBC made the announcement on-stage at the W Hotel in San Francisco during a Road to Greenbuild event leading up to the Greenbuild International Conference and Expo, which runs from November 12 – 17 in San Francisco. The event was attended by 150 regional executives and included a luncheon, keynote by Fedrizzi, and appearances by executives from the participating companies.

“California companies have always been trail blazers,” said Dan Geiger, executive director, USGBC-NCC. “When President Obama initiated the Better Buildings Challenge, we thought California firms could go further with the California Best Buildings Challenge. In the lead up to Greenbuild coming to its birthplace San Francisco, these firms are stepping up to pursue aggressive environmental goals in a landmark accelerated time frame – and most importantly, to inspire others to do the same.”

USGBC-NCC developed the Challenge, launching it with former President Clinton at the closing plenary event of the 2012 Clinton Global Initiative America meeting, which focused on identifying solutions to the economic turmoil in the United States. CGI America identified the Challenge as an excellent approach to addressing clean electricity and efficiency.

“Some of the companies are committing to pursue the Challenge in already very efficient, even LEED Platinum, buildings,” said Ashleigh Talberth, of USGBC-NCC, director of the California Best Buildings Challenge. “This Challenge could kick start a new wave of unprecedented, cutting-edge sustainability.”

The USGBC is committed to a prosperous and sustainable future through cost-efficient and energy-saving green buildings by utilizing its market-transforming LEED green building certification program, educational programs, a nationwide network of professionals, and the annual Greenbuild International Conference and Expo. USGBC-NCC is one of the largest chapters in the country with more than 22,000 constituents, 10,000 LEED accredited professionals and more than five percent of the world’s LEED-certified square footage.

Allen Smith, CEO of Prudential Real Estate Investors, said, “As a major investor in commercial real estate around the world, PREI is committed to our investors, our tenants, and each other to find creative, sustainable approaches to building, improving and managing property. We’re excited to be part of the California Best Buildings Challenge as it is an opportunity to demonstrate that commitment by bringing out the best in us while improving our environmental practices.”

“SAP is committed to developing innovations that help run operations more sustainably for ourselves and our customers. A key part of SAP’s sustainability leadership is our dedication to environmentally-sustainable buildings, including optimizing the efficiency of our existing buildings and when creating new buildings from the ground up. By participating in the California Best Buildings Challenge, all companies have an opportunity to demonstrate how they are driving sustainability into their core business strategy and communities,” said Peter Graf, chief sustainability officer at SAP.

Phil Williams, Webcor Builders’ vice president of technical systems and sustainability, stated, “As the region’s leading builder, sustainability is pivotal for Webcor’s designs, job sites, business practices, and research and development. Through a combination of experience and innovation, we are fundamentally committed to improving the quality of the built environment and collaboratively delivering this knowledge to the industry.”

Dave Beck, vice president, XL Construction, added, “XL Construction is excited to be joining the likes of Genentech, Google and Zynga in the California Best Buildings Challenge. As a builder committed to sustainability, we are always seeking better ways to serve our clients and communities. In challenging ourselves to meet the 20% reduction of energy, water, and waste in two years, we will be implementing strategies at home that we can then bring to our clients with living proof of efficacy and cost-effectiveness. We also hope to lead the industry in continuing to push the boundaries of efficiency and sustainable building.”

Article source: http://www.costar.com/News/Article/13-Bay-Area-Companies-Join-USGBCs-California-Best-Building-Challenge/141700

Taking those flaws into consideration, Realtor Bernard Katzmann listed it for $1.1 million at the inauspicious sales time of Thanksgiving. Then he watched in amazement as 22 offers came in – many for all cash – and it ended up selling for $1.54 million.

“Lots of tech companies were represented” among the bidders, he said. “I heard that many buyers want to get in now before Facebook goes public (and spawns scores of new millionaires), which is pushing demand.”

In a still-moribund real estate market, Noe Valley stands out as a neighborhood buoyed by positive fiscal forces.

All the money flowing into tech firms, and all the tech jobs being created in Silicon Valley and San Francisco, have been a boon for Noe Valley because of its fortuitous location for Peninsula, South Bay and downtown commutes, along with its walkable, small-town feel, family-friendly vibe (it’s called “stroller valley”), and charming, albeit pricey, Victorians.

“It’s like a little village within the city,” said Sally Smith, co-publisher and editor of the Noe Valley Voice, the monthly neighborhood newspaper. “It has that community feeling that everybody wants.”

“Noe Valley is a favorite neighborhood for techies because it’s so close to 101 and 280,” said Tim Gullicksen, an agent with Zephyr Real Estate. “It’s a pain to live on the north side of San Francisco because they have to get all the way through town to get to the freeways.”

Tech firms’ buses a plus

The private bus routes sponsored by tech firms are a draw, said Zephyr agent Danielle Lazier. “We see a lot of first-time buyers from tech companies who still want to have a city lifestyle; they don’t want to live in the suburbs, but they work down south. What I notice is when people from Google, Apple, Yahoo and Genentech come in for a first meeting, we literally draw a line in the city because of the commute. Noe Valley is at the top of the list, then Bernal, Mission, Dolores, Cole Valley.”

The numbers tell the story. The median sales price in San Francisco has tumbled to $653,000, down 22 percent from its 2007 peak of $840,000, according to real estate information service Dataquick. That’s a far less dramatic slide than most other California cities. But in ZIP code 94114, which includes Noe Valley and the Castro, the median sales price for single-family homes now stands at $1.332 million, only 5 percent below its 2007 peak of $1.406 million. The median condo price is $820,000, down 8.5 percent from its 2007 peak of $896,000.

“It’s not completely bulletproof, but it’s more stable than other areas,” Lazier said. “Not everything sells over asking price the way it used to.”

Noe isn’t the only San Francisco neighborhood whose cachet has insulated it from the real estate downturn. ZIP codes 94117 (Haight-Ashbury/Cole Valley) and 94123 (Marina/Cow Hollow), for instance, have seen even less pricing impact.

Tight inventory is one factor that keeps Noe Valley prices up. Last year, 163 existing single-family homes, 143 existing condos and 10 new residences changed hands in the ZIP code, Dataquick reported.

Location, location, location

“Noe Valley has several things going for it,” said Jed Kolko, chief economist at real estate site Trulia.com. “Being closer to the Silicon Valley commute than other desirable parts of the city is a big plus. It’s also convenient to downtown. And it’s a neighborhood where there’s not a lot of new construction to relieve price pressure as more people go after pretty much the same number of homes.”

Brendan Collins, owner of Collins Construction, buys “fixer” houses, remodels and expands them, and then sells them. Noe Valley, where the older Victorians and Edwardians are modest in size because they were built for working-class families, is particularly fertile ground because it is such a desirable neighborhood for families, he said.

Article source: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2012/02/19/BUIS1N7MM8.DTL&type=business

San Francisco, CA (PRWEB) December 23, 2011

The fourth quarter of 2011 is seeing a rising trend in the San Francisco rental market, and Zephyr Realty agent Tim Gullicksen, one of the firm’s top real estate agents, advises would-be renters and others looking for space in the Bay Area that purchasing property now is a viable alternative.

“Rents are soaring and vacancy rates are shrinking, making the rental market in San Francisco more brutal and competitive than ever. The spillover effect has driven many would-be renters into the purchase market,” Gullicksen said. “So far this has not resulted in increased housing prices, but if this pressure on the sales market is sustained then it will inevitably lead to increased purchase prices.”

This spike in the rental market is largely due to the influx of highly paid high-tech and bio-tech workers employed in the area by gigantic corporations, such as Google, Apple and Genentech, which have started running private shuttles from San Francisco to their offices. The decreasing supply of available rental spaces has caused rents to rocket, leaving some people opting to buy homes instead.

At the moment, purchasing real estate in San Francisco presents both a practical and secure option for even a first-time home buyer.

“Interest rates on 30-year fixed loans are still at a historic low, and with FHA loans allowing buyers to put as little as 3.5 percent down, the time has never been better to get into the real estate market,” Gullicksen said.

To learn more about housing trends in the Bay Area or to seek advice from a top-rate realtor who has a concrete understanding of the area, call Tim Gullicksen at 415-674-6500, view him on the web at www.timgullicksen.com, or contact him personally at Zephyr Real Estate’s Pacific Heights Office at 2523 California St., San Francisco, CA 94115.

About Zephyr Realty

Zephyr Realty has been one of San Francisco’s best real estate firms for more than 30 years. It is the largest and most successful independent real estate firm, and its longevity has equipped Zephyr Realty with an in-depth knowledge of the San Francisco market. Zephyr Real Estate features real estate experts and more than 200 reliable agents working in six neighborhood locations.

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For the original version on PRWeb visit: www.prweb.com/releases/prwebreal-estate/san-francisco/prweb9062305.htm

Article source: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/g/a/2011/12/23/prweb9062305.DTL

Based on worker feedback, 125 Bay Area organizations were designated as ‘Best Places to Work’ by the San Francisco Business Times and Silicon Valley/San Jose Business Journal. The top employers were split into five divisions based on staff size and included Intuit, Juniper Networks, Kaiser Permanente, Genentech and Santa Clara University (1500+ workers); Kimpton Hotel Restaurant Group, Zynga, Riverbed Technology, Fairmont Hotels Resorts, and Fenwick West (501-1500); Bradley Real Estate, Box.net, Workday, DPR Construction and Demandforce (101-500). Rankings were derived from multiple-choice surveys distributed to over 180,000 employees at 301 nominated companies.

For complete results, visit bizjournals.com/sanfrancisco.

On the Job Front

CORTE MADERA – Circle Bank, which operates seven days a week, has opened its sixth and largest branch here.

FOLSOM – Staffing firm Mainstay Business Solutions has shut down after losing a 2-yr dispute with the state EDD over $16.5 million in unpaid unemployment taxes and penalties. They employed 48 local admin staffers and had placed over 400 workers in the region and another 7500 workers elsewhere in CA. All will lose their jobs with Mainstay, although it is likely that many of the employers will make arrangements with other staffing firms to retain the affected workers.

FREMONT – Meltwater Group, which monitors electronic media and provides search-engine marketing services, is opening a new 8700-sq-ft RD office here.

ROSEVILLE – Colorado-based Sunflower Farmers Market is opening its first CA store on May 11. They need directors, dept managers, clerks, cashiers, bakery/meat/deli staffers, and expect to hire up to 100. Apply online at sfmarkets.com . . . BookKeeping Express, which provides accounting services for small businesses, just opened here. . . US Cryotherapy, has opened the first cold-therapy clinic in the nation.

SAN FRANCISCO – A $1.5-billion development plan to build thousands of housing units on Treasure Island has been approved. . . Twitter will lease 200,000 sq ft of space on Market Square, enough for 1200 more employees when they move in mid-2012. . . Meckler Bulger Tilson Marick Pearson LLP, a Chicago-based firm specializing in insurance law, has opened a new office with 7 partners and 4 associates.

SAN JOSE – Of the nation’s major metropolitan areas, San Jose is ranked 20th for its small-business vitality, according to The Business Journals. . . Cisco Systems is discontinuing the manufacture of Flip video devices, which will cut 550 jobs out of the picture in a realignment plan.

SUNNYVALE – Bloom Energy expects to add more than 1000 new jobs and quadruple its local manufacturing space for producing solid oxide fuel cells known as “Bloom Boxes.”

UNION CITY – Packaging distributor Container Consulting Services is expanding its footprint at Willowbrook Business Center, from about 34,000 to 45,000 sq ft. o

MODESTO – After losing its major wholesale account with SaveMart Supermarkets last October, which accounted for most of its bread business, Word-of-Mouth Baking Co closed at the end of March.

REDWOOD CITY – After more than a year of negotiations with a union representing 2700 nurses, Stanford Hospitals Clinics and Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital has agreed to a 4-percent pay raise retroactive to April 2010, another 4-percent increase effective this month, and enhanced support for professional development programs.

ROSEVILLE – 850 registered nurses will get an immediate 5-percent pay increase, plus another 14 percent over the next three years, after the CA Nurses Association/National Nurses United ratified a new agreement with Sutter Health hospitals. In Auburn, 250 nurses will get a 3-percent increase immediately, and 14 percent over 3 years.

SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY – The Business Forecasting Center at the University of the Pacific says that the San Joaquin County and Valley have “turned the economic corner” and are showing signs of recovery.

SILICON VALLEY – According to the University of the Pacific’s Business Forecasting Center, this area is leading the state in the recovery and “experiencing robust growth.”

Article source: http://www.jobjournal.com/thisweek.asp?artid=3148