Redwood condo sells first unit By Keri Brenner, IJ reporter March 2, 2004 A Marin law office is the first business to buy a unit at 4300 Redwood, a new commercial condo development under construction in northern San Rafael. Attorney Leon Reich purchased a 3,000-square-foot unit in the 16-unit, 130,000-square-foot-project, said Gerry Heermann, listing agent for Orion Partners Ltd. of San Rafael. Reich is expected to move in by July. Another six units are almost through the escrow process, and six additional units are in negotiation. "The level of interest has been phenomenal - we're getting four to five calls a day," Heermann said. The project allows purchase of smaller spaces, such as 2,000 or 3,000 square feet - sizes that are attractive to smaller firms. "There's really no opportunities for small businesses to buy buildings," Heermann said. "We can size this to meet their needs." The development, on 10 acres at 4300 Redwood Highway fronting the east side of Highway 101, will be complete by the end of this summer, said project developer John Lovewell, of Keenan-Lovewell Ventures, Palo Alto. Construction began in earnest last September. With the county's commercial leasing market still depressed, buying rather than leasing office space makes sense in the current economy, he said. Marin's office lease vacancy rate - in 2002 at about 21 percent - declined slightly in 2003 but was still in the double digits at 17.7 percent, according to an Orion survey. "It has real egalitarian appeal," Lovewell said of 4300 Redwood, which will have a winery village design with a "town square," trellises, fountains and extensive landscaping. "Businesses can own their own property and also create their own retirement vehicle." Prices in the development range from $170 per square foot for warehouse space to $275 per square foot for an office shell. A 2,000-square-foot warehouse space, for example, would cost about $340,000. The former tidal marsh site was once occupied by Fairchild Semiconductor Inc., a huge Marin employer from the 1960s through 1988. It was acquired by Schlumberger Technology Corp., an international high-tech company, when Schlumberger purchased the Fairchild corporation assets in 1979. Schlumberger began a hazardous waste cleanup at the site in the mid-1980s, including both soil removal and water treatment. Keenan-Lovewell Ventures purchased the property from Schlumberger in July 2001. Contact Keri Brenner via e-mail at kbrenner@marinij.com