homesmillbrae.com » Twitter

How green can you go? PAE Engineers challenges Bay Area developers

Sun, 15 Sep 2013 01:14:56 +0000

PAE Engineers designed the building systems for the six-story Bullitt Foundation building Seattle that is one of the five “living buildings” PAE has worked on.

Blanca Torres
Reporter- San Francisco Business Times

Email
| Twitter
| Google+
| LinkedIn

PAE Consulting Engineers Inc. wants to work on the first “living” building in San Francisco. They just need a developer or architect to hire them.

The Portland-based engineering firm opened its San Francisco office less than three years ago to bring its expertise in sustainable buildings to the market.

PAE specializes in sustainability practices such as zero net energy, where a building generates more energy that it uses, and living buildings, which are structures that capture and generate their own water supply and are not connected to a municipal sewer system.

The Bay Area is home a few zero net energy buildings like one in San Leandro, a industrial building retrofitted to house an electrical union training center, and the Exploratorium, which opened earlier this year in San Francisco.

But there are no living buildings in the Bay Area.

“We want to find people interested in this challenge,” said John Paul Peterson, senior associate with PAE’s San Francisco office. “Let’s make this happen here. We know the science can work.”

PAE has worked on five living buildings including one in downtown Seattle, a six-story office building for the Bullitt Foundation, that opened earlier this year. The firm designed a system that composts all the waste from toilets (people still flush, in case you were wondering) and has a its won rainwater reclamation system.

The building takes advantage of natural lighting, which is more challenging in Seattle than in San Francisco, uses geothermal radiant heating and cooling, and encourages occupants to take the stairs instead of elevators as much as possible.

Blanca Torres covers East Bay real estate for the San Francisco Business Times.

Article source: http://www.bizjournals.com/sanfrancisco/blog/real-estate/2013/09/pae-engineers-zero-net-energy-buildings.html

Want a house? See what $1 million gets you

Sat, 07 Sep 2013 12:52:13 +0000

First, negative home equity. Millions of homeowners are still stuck in place, unable to sell because they owe more on their mortgages than their homes are worth. While more than 3 million homeowners came up from underwater in the past year, 12.2 million are still drowning in mortgage debt, according to a recent report from Zillow.

Confidence, or lack thereof, is also still keeping some sellers sidelined.

“There always is a tendency to time the market, which we know is becoming a little bit harder to do,” said Budge Huskey, CEO of Coldwell Banker in an interview on CNBC. “It’s an assessment of their overall impressions of the economy. I think there’s still a little hesitation. People want to see stronger economic growth, people want to see more progress made toward unemployment rates and just feel better about moving on.”

Lack of inventory means it is a seller’s market, despite so much hesitance by potential sellers themselves. That will keep home prices strong, unless and until more people decide to list their homes and home builders ramp up production, which they have been so far slow to do.

(Read more: $1 million summer homes)

It begs the question, what is housing worth today, market-to-market? A million dollars may buy a McMansion in Oklahoma, but barely buy a bedroom in Manhattan.

In an effort to gauge differing values, CNBC is trawling the million-dollar market again, this time in a “back-to-school” edition.

Starting on “Squawk Box” this Friday, two reporters will show two homes without disclosing their locations; they will document the interiors, exteriors, marketed features and one unique bonus offered by each home.

Real estate maven Dolly Lenz will decide which house gives buyers a better bang for the buck.

We will then reveal where the two houses are located, and with that added to the mix, Lenz will choose a winner. That house will then go up against the next mystery location on the next show.

(Follow along on Twitter with the hashtag #MillionDollarHome and see the early winners here as well).

—By CNBC’s Diana Olick. Follow her on Twitter @Diana_Olick.

Questions?Comments? facebook.com/DianaOlickCNBC

Article source: http://www.cnbc.com/id/101009330

Amazon leasing surges in Bay Area

Thu, 05 Sep 2013 06:47:45 +0000

Jeff Bezos

J.K. Dineen
Reporter- San Francisco Business Times

Email
| Twitter
| Google+

Amazon.com Inc. is pushing ahead with a San Francisco expansion that will grow its footprint in the city to nearly 150,000 square feet.

In August, the Seattle-based online retailer signed a 65,000-square-foot lease at 475 Sansome St. The deal surprised downtown real estate observers because Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN) had previously leased 20,000 square feet in the Sansome St. building but had planned to sublease the space when it took 83,000 square feet at 188 Spear St. Instead, not only did Amazon decide to keep its space at 475 Sansome St., it tripled its commitment there.

Amazon has about 80 jobs open in San Francisco, more than half of which are for its Amazon Music division, according to the group’s website. The ads are looking for engineers and designers to “help us build the world’s best online music player.”

The deals come as Amazon, led by Jeff Bezos, is also making big moves in Silicon Valley. In 2012, the group agreed to a lease of close to 600,000 square feet at Jay Paul Co.’s Moffett Towers complex to house its Lab 126 subsidiary, previously located in Cupertino. The lab is where the Kindle and the Amazon smartphone are developed.

“Amazon is on a space tear in the Bay Area,” said Research Director Colin Yasukochi of CBRE. “If you add up what they did down in the valley and what they are doing here, they have added a lot of space in the Bay Area. Of course, if you compare it to what they are doing in Seattle, it’s a drop in the bucket.”

In downtown Seattle, Amazon is developing a 3.3-million-square-foot high-rise campus on three blocks; construction is underway on the first block.

The Sansome St. deal was the second large new lease in the month of August, slightly smaller than Cisco’s 67,000-square-foot lease at 500 Terry Francois.

J.K. Dineen covers real estate for the San Francisco Business Times.

Article source: http://www.bizjournals.com/sanfrancisco/blog/2013/09/amazon-goes-on-bay-area-growth-spurt.html

Newcastle bets on Shadelands, buys 197000 SF of office in Walnut Creek

Sat, 27 Jul 2013 09:48:20 +0000

Newcastle Partners expects to sign more leases soon in Centre Pointe, a 197,000-square-foot office complex in Walnut Creek that the firm recently bought.

Blanca Torres
Reporter- San Francisco Business Times

Email
| Twitter
| Google+
| LinkedIn

Newcastle Partners is betting that the Shadelands Business Park, a long struggling office submarket in Walnut Creek, is poised to make a comeback.

The San Francisco-based investor and developer recently snapped up Centre Pointe, a six-building, 197,000-square-foot office complex at 165 – 215 Lennon Lane, from seller Sun Life Financial, which has partnered with Newcastle on other projects.

The price was estimated at close to $21 million or $105 to $110 per square foot, according to Cornish Carey Commercial Newmark Knight Frank.

Dennis Higgins, managing partner of Newcastle, said he expects Shadelands to see more leasing and activity from healthcare tenants and Safeway Inc.’s proposed, 25-acre retail and senior housing project (read more here).

“The basis for which we were able to purchase Center Pointe was very attractive,” Higgs said. “Historically, the Shadelands hasn’t been the most popular submarket, but we think that with an aggressive basis and all the changes in the neighborhood, it’s going to be an attractive area.”

Newcastle, founded in 1999 by Higgs, owns office and industrial properties throughout California and tends to go after value-add properties in the Bay Area.

Center Pointe was 85 percent leased at the time of the deal and Newcastle expects to sign on new tenants soon.

In the past year, the firm has picked up properties including the 80,000-square-foot 246 First St. in San Francisco with partner Stockbridge Capital Group, the 225,000-square foot Great America Place office complex in Santa Clara and a few small buildings in San Francisco’s Jackson Square area.

Blanca Torres covers East Bay real estate for the San Francisco Business Times.

Article source: http://www.bizjournals.com/sanfrancisco/blog/real-estate/2013/07/newcastle-bets-on-shadelands-buys.html

Barry Zito slashed Marin home price– again

Wed, 10 Jul 2013 02:47:40 +0000

Share this gallery: 1 of 13

On the market over 100 days now, Barry Zito’s home has made news before, first when it listed for $11,495,000 in 2012, then when it dropped $1M in price, and now again, slashed another $720K.

“Villa Della Pace” is actually quite gorgeous, a welcome departure from gaudy, over-the-top celebrity homes we all see too often. The home offers 4 bedrooms, 5.5 baths plus numerous entertainment room options, a pool with outdoor lounge area, plus panoramic views of Phoenix Lake and the hills of Marin County. Outside, find 2.2 acres of private land, embellished with stone terraces, lawns and gardens as well as an outdoor fireplace, cooking area, fountain, spa, and the aforementioned spectacular swimming pool.

Inside details like an extra-large custom stone shower, double sinks, and walk-in closet in the master suite continue the theme of tasteful but certainly “a taste for the good life” luxury.

On top of that, add Zito’s fame. Why aren’t rich Giants fans knocking down doors for the privilege of owning what was once the 2-time World Champ’s home (who incidentally purchased it in 2007 for $8,863,000)?

What do you say, readers? What will it take for Villa Della Pace to sell?

Anna Marie Erwert writes from both the renter and new buyer perspective, having (finally) achieved both statuses. She focuses on national real estate trends, specializing in the San Francisco Bay Area and Pacific Northwest. Follow Anna on Twitter: @AnnaMarieErwert

Article source: http://blog.sfgate.com/ontheblock/2013/07/09/barry-zito-slashed-marin-home-price-again/

San Francisco stats like you’ve never seen them

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 01:45:30 +0000

Share this gallery: 1 of 13

San Francisco gets called diverse, liberal, wealthy, and over-educated– often. And apparently, such adjectives are verifiable, thanks to these handy graphs developed by Paragon Real Estate (view the original post with more slides at The Frontsteps blog). Note that the data crunched here is predominately that of the 2010 census, so some figures will be less than current, and perhaps not completely accurate as they are subject to that which is (and is not) reported to the census.

Still, overall, kind of cool stuff. And to most residents, these slides seem to tell of a version of San Francisco that’s pretty close to the real story.

Article source: http://blog.sfgate.com/ontheblock/2013/06/18/san-francisco-stats-like-youve-never-seen-them/

Bay Area housing inventory drops by 30 percent

Sat, 15 Jun 2013 07:29:33 +0000

Fewer Bay Area homeowners listed homes for sale in June than last the same month last year.

Blanca Torres
Reporter- San Francisco Business Times

Email
| Twitter
| Google+
| LinkedIn

Housing inventory was down by more than 30 percent during the past year in the Bay Area, according to real estate website Zillow.

When comparing June of 2013 to June of 2012 in its database of listings, Zillow found there were fewer homes on the market in the San Francisco metro area, but nationwide, the number rose by 5.3 percent.

Zillow listed 4,528 total homes for sale in June of this year, down from 6,496 last year, in the San Francisco metropolitan area including San Francisco, Alameda, Marin, Contra Costa, and San Mateo counties.

In our market, having fewer homes for sale has pumped up prices and sparked bidding wars.

“Inventory will likely remain below year-ago levels for a while yet, as builders ramp up capacity and sellers wait to squeeze every drop of equity from their home before listing,” said Stan Humphries, Zillow’s chief economist.

Experts expect that with prices climbing up, more homeowners will list their properties for sale and prices will stabilize.

“Going forward, as this new supply makes its way to market, we expect the pace of home value appreciation to slow down from unsustainably high annual levels of 5 percent or above to more moderate levels closer to historic norms of 3 percent or 4 percent,” Humphries said.

Blanca Torres covers East Bay real estate for the San Francisco Business Times.

Article source: http://www.bizjournals.com/sanfrancisco/blog/real-estate/2013/06/bay-area-housing-inventory-drops-by-30.html

Will Shutterfly flutter into Bay Meadows? Nets are up

Mon, 03 Jun 2013 06:27:30 +0000

Station 2, the HOK-designed building Shutterfly will likely occupy at Bay Meadows

J.K. Dineen
Reporter- San Francisco Business Times

Email
| Twitter
| Google+

Shutterfly is looking at possibly moving its corporate headquarters to Bay Meadows in San Mateo, but corporate officials cautioned that nothing has been signed yet.

Several Peninsula brokerages sources stated that the digital personalized photo firm is looking at taking all the office space in Station 2, one of five office buildings slated for the 83-acre former racetrack. The five-building campus will total 763,000 square feet.

Gretchen Sloan, Shutterfly’s director of corporate communications, said that no lease has been signed and that the company continues to look at its options across the Bay Area. The company is growing and currently has 40 job openings, according to its website.

Station 2, located at the southwest corner of Delaware Street and 28th Avenue, is an L-shaped structure composed of two rectangular wings — one parallel to 28th Avenue and the other adjacent to the Caltrain rail line. The building includes large floor plates on levels two through four, with space for retail and active use on a portion of the ground floor. A landscaped courtyard links the building’s two-story office lobby to Delaware Street. Parking is hidden below the building and within its lower levels at the rear of each wing. The building includes 177,000 square feet of office space and 11,000 square feet of retail, which will include a 3,000-square-foot restaurant.

The architect is HOK.

Shutterfly is currently located in Redwood City at 2800 Bridge Pkwy.

Bay Meadows master developers Wilson Meany and Stockbridge Capital Group have submitted building permits for foundation and grading on Station Blocks two, three, and four. The developers have also pulled a superstructure permit for Station Block Two, the building Shutterfly is looking to take, according to Darcy Forsell, an associate planner with the city.

Shutterfly makes photo books, personalized holiday cards, announcements, invitations and stationery, as well as custom home decor products and photo gifts

The potential Shutterfly lease comes as Bay Meadows is making tracks on multiple fronts. This week Wilson Meany and Stockbridge announced that they have started construction on Field House, a 108-unit apartment complex. In addition TRI Pointe Homes and Shea Home are well underway on 156 for sale town homes, 97 of which have been permitted. The 30 homes released so far sold out immediately.

Bay Meadows will also include a 12-acre park and a campus for the Nueva School, an independent school that is building a 2.76-acre high school.

On May 28th Forsell gave San Mateo planning commissioners an update on the project and said that she expects the three Bay Meadows office buildings could be under construction this summer.

A Shutterfly deal at Bay Meadows would be a huge boost for the development, which a decade in the making, is an ambitious effort to build a dense, mixed-use, transit-oriented community in an area that often resists density and change.

J.K. Dineen covers real estate for the San Francisco Business Times.

Article source: http://www.bizjournals.com/sanfrancisco/blog/2013/05/bay-meadows-lands-first-big-corporate.html?page=all

Climb Real Estate Releases iPad App for San Francisco Bay Area Real Estate …

Sun, 19 May 2013 04:17:31 +0000

San Francisco-based real estate agency Climb Real Estate Group has released a free iPad app for homes and apartments for sale and rent in the San Francisco Bay Area.

San Francisco, CA (PRWEB) May 17, 2013

Climb Real Estate Group’s new app for iOS devices allows users to browse homes and apartments for sale and rent in the San Francisco Bay Area. Buyers, sellers, owners, and luxury real estate aficionados are set to explore the world of extraordinary real estate with Climb’s long-awaited app.

The app shows high-quality photos and a full description for each of Climb Real Estate’s properties, as well as a link to contact the listing agent directly from the mobile device. Listings are updated in real time so users are always up-to-date with what’s happening in San Francisco real estate.

The app’s features include the ability to see all Climb’s current sales and rental listings or see what’s been recently sold and rented. Users can browse agent profiles, save favorite properties for viewing later, or share properties via email, Facebook and Twitter from inside the application.

“We are happy to announce that our dedicated mobile users can find a version at Apple’s Newsstand featuring some of our many fine properties,” said Climb partner Mark Choey, who was instrumental in the development and launch. “As a thought leader in the real estate technology space, it is crucial that Climb have an app.”

“With such a larger userbase using smart phones, iPads and other mobile devices, the importance of communicating effectively with a mobile consumer is essential,” said Managing Director Dirk Kinley. “What we have created not only provides compelling information for buyers, but it also reflects the innovation of Climb’s brand.”

The “ClimbSF Real Estate” app is available for free from iTunes and the Apple App Store.

Climb Real Estate Group is a full-service general real estate brokerage with an emphasis on the purchase, sale, rental and marketing of select residential new developments, commercial and premier resale properties. We specialize in condos, high rises, lofts and homes in South Beach, SOMA, South Beach, Mission Bay, Rincon Hill, Potrero Hill and Central Waterfront. Our focus is on urban-style properties, specializing in new construction, historic loft conversions, live/work spaces, Victorian flats, modern condominiums, and stylish single-family homes. We also have exclusive access to Off-Market Listings, Foreclosures and Developer Specials.

For the original version on PRWeb visit: http://www.prweb.com/releases/prwebclimbsf/launchesipadapp/prweb10742681.htm

Article source: http://www.sfgate.com/business/prweb/article/Climb-Real-Estate-Releases-iPad-App-for-San-4526213.php

Climb Real Estate Releases iPad App for San Francisco Bay Area Real Estate …

Sat, 18 May 2013 10:13:07 +0000

Users can browse agent profiles, save favorite properties for viewing later, or share properties via email, Facebook and Twitter from inside the application.

San Francisco, CA (PRWEB) May 17, 2013

The “ClimbSF Real Estate” app is available for free from iTunes and the Apple App Store.

PDF

Print

Article source: http://www.prweb.com/releases/climbsf/launchesipadapp/prweb10742681.htm