The tale of how the paddling pup pulled from the middle of San Francisco Bay got there and who owns her remains a puzzle, but more details have emerged about her rescue by a pack of windsurfers and a boating commuter.

The dog, a black pup that appears to be a Labrador mix or a Mastiff, was pulled from the chilly bay waters about one-quarter mile west of the end of the old Berkeley Pier – a good two to three miles from shore – by windsurfers who spotted her struggling in the water Monday evening. They handed her off to Adam Cohen, a Berkeley engineer who commutes to and from San Francisco in an inflatable boat, who her took her to his home to recover.

On Tuesday, the dog was taken to Berkeley Dog and Cat Hospital to see if she had an embedded chip that might identify her owners. She didn’t, and rather than turn the dog over to an animal shelter, Cohen and his family are taking care of her at home while hoping her owners show up.

The Berkeley Dog and Cat Hospital is helping with the search for the owners. Anyone who thinks they may know the dog’s owners is asked to call Katie Corrigan at (510) 225-4545.

The dog, who was wearing a collar but had no tags, seemed to be recovering nicely, said Lisa Grodin, Cohen’s wife.

“The dog follows me everywhere,” she said as the dog licked her. “She is so sweet. She’s lovely.”

While there have been plenty of calls from reporters and people interested in the dog and her story, Grodin said there were not yet any leads to her owners or clues as to how she ended up apparently swimming toward Angel Island in the cold, choppy bay.

The identity of the windsurfers who spotted her did emerge Tuesday, however. Ed Coyne, 62, a real estate investor from San Rafael, and John Newman, a San Francisco attorney, were windsurfing off Treasure Island about three miles west of Berkeley and four miles east of Crissy Field when they spotted a smallish black creature swimming.

“At first, we couldn’t tell whether it was a baby seal or what,” Newman said. “Then we saw it was a dog.”

Coyne said the dog kept swimming against the tide, and in choppy waters, but was struggling.

“She was completely exhausted,” he said. “Waves were coming and she’d get pushed under, then push her head back up and keep swimming.”

Coyne jumped into the water and called out to the dog but couldn’t get her attention. He got back on his board, circled in front and grabbed her by the scruff of the neck. He placed her on the board, where she sat shivering but seemingly grateful to be out of the water.

Soon, nearby windsurfers gathered, keeping the dog out of the water while they used a radio to call the Coast Guard.

After waiting for about an hour, they flagged down Cohen, and called off the Coast Guard, helping lift the dog into the boat and to safety.

“Ed was determined to save and rescue that dog,” Newman said. “On Monday, he was that dog’s best friend.”

Michael Cabanatuan is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. E-mail: mcabanatuan@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @ctuan

Article source: http://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/How-SF-Bay-s-paddling-pup-got-wet-still-a-mystery-4730582.php

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Richland Cos. now owns the
104,000-SF Bay Plaza Office
Complex.

WEBSTER, TX-The Richland Cos. acquired the 104,091-square-foot Bay Plaza Office Complex from its long-time owner, Capital Commercial Investments Inc. of Austin. The Houston-based buyer added the class B office building to its portfolio through a direct commercial real estate transaction with the seller.

The Harris Central Appraisal District, which appraises the asset at 711 W. Bay Area Blvd. for approximately $5.58 million, notes that Capital Commercial Investments’ entity CCI-711 Bay Area Ltd. acquired the office building in April 1998. The office building was developed in the early 1980s and renovated in 2009 following damage sustained by Hurricane Ike.  Richland Cos.’ President and CEO Edna Meyer-Nelson would not disclose the price paid for the asset, though did say it was acquired at a significant discount to replacement costs. Derek R. Stokes with San Antonio-based Trinity Real Estate Finance Inc. secured funding for the CRE transaction from American Family Insurance of Madison, WI.

Meyer-Nelson explains there were many benefits with this office building, not the least of which is that it’s located in a fast-growing area of Houston. “NASA is booming, and a lot of developers are building down there,” she says. “The ship channel is also growing by leaps and bounds.”

Adding to the building’s appeal is that it’s a high-rise office asset in a supply constrained submarket. “It’s tough to build right there,” Meyer-Nelson explains. “The land along the Gulf Freeway (Interstate 45) and close by is on 100-year leases.”

Bay Plaza Office Complex is 94% occupied, with tenants including BP, San Jacinto College, Blue Moon Detective Agency, Hometrust Mortgage, Broadpoint, Texan Bank, Evergreen Tank Soultion, MeCor and Select Medical.  Meyer-Nelson says roll will be small this year and next year, but in about two years, approximately 30% of the building is anticipated to roll. “Our strategy is to maintain the building, take good care of it, get it leased up, then handle that 30% to 35% roll we’re anticipating in 2.5 years,” she tells GlobeSt.com. “Then we’ll sell it, leaving some meat on the bone for someone else.”

With the market improving, Richland Cos. is becoming more active. The company sold three assets this year, acquired another property through a joint venture and is looking for more. “One of the markets I’m in right now, that hopefully will have earnest money and a contract in the next two to three weeks is Dallas,” Meyer-Nelson says. Another asset in Richland Cos.’ sight is an industrial park in Oklahoma City.

“We anticipate having four more transactions this year,” Meyer-Nelson says. “If we can sell one or two more assets and buy another three or so, that’ll be a good year for us.”

Categories:

Southwest,
Office,
Acquisitions/Dispositions,
Leasing,
Online Exclusive,
Austin,
Dallas/Fort Worth,
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Amy Wolff Sorter brings close to 30 years of reporting and editorial experience to her role as southwest editor for GlobeSt.com; with more than 10 of those years spent reporting on business and real estate trends. In addition to her duties with ALM, Amy is a copyeditor and writer with Texas Jewish Post.
ûContact Amy Wolff Sorter

Article source: http://www.globest.com/news/12_406/houston/acquisitions_dispositions/Richland-Cos-Acquires-104000-SF-Bay-Plaza-Office-Complex-323886.html

The six-acre Red Rock Island, near the Richmond-San Rafael Bridge, is the only privately-owned island in San Francisco Bay.  It had been listed at twenty-two-million. 

Realtor Steven Higbee says he knows what he would do with the island if it were his.
  
“Oh, I’d definitely have a house, a small harbor,” said Higbee. “There’s enough rock — I mean, the island is basically solid rock, so if you want to create a flatter area, you could build, you know a breakwater and stuff so you have your own small boat harbor there.”

The only person who ever lived on Red Rock Island built a home in the 1850s.

Article source: http://www.kqed.org/news/story/2012/07/09/101128/price_reduced_on_sf_bays_red_rock_island?category=bay+area