NORTH BAY BUSINESS JOURNAL EVENT

Impact Napa

Tuesday, August 26, 2008, 8-10:45 a.m., Napa Valley Marriott, Napa

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Law firm takes 15,500 square feet at Kerner building

SAN RAFAEL – Sacramento-based law firm Nielsen, Merksamer, Parrinello, Mueller & Naylor signed an eight-year lease in San Rafael for one of the final spaces in the soon-to-open Kerner Boulevard office complex.

The group will take about 15,500 square feet at 2350 Kerner Blvd., which will replace its 7,500-square-foot Mill Valley office. The building owners have already begun tenant improvement, and the Nielsen firm plans to move in some time in mid-May or early June.

The 29-lawyer firm has two other offices in Sacramento and San Francisco, and it specializes in government, political and initiative law, trial and appellate litigation and other areas.

The firm’s former Mill Valley office at 591 Redwood Highway is being subleased to Sitecore Web content managers, which is moving from a space on Mitchell Boulevard. Orion Partners’ Meryl Sebestyen represented Sitecore in the sublease.

In total, the recently completed Kerner office complex has about 116,000 square feet in four buildings and cost about $40 million, according to owners San Rafael Land Co. The law firm lease encompasses the entire second floor of one of the buildings, which is on the bay side of the complex.

Orion Partners’ Jerry Angel and Brian Eisberg represented San Rafael Land Co. in the deal and Keegan & Coppin Inc.’s Matt Storms and Josh Jones represented the law firm.

The Dutra Group, which operates the San Rafael Quarry, is also a tenant along with Health Net, which is leasing 60,000 square feet. Currently, about 85 percent of the complex is leased, but spaces of 2,500 to 13,500 square feet are still available.

“For the first time we are ready to talk to small tenants,” said Mr. Eisberg. “The office park has already been successful even prior to opening its doors.”

Dutra will be the first tenant to move in April 15. The developer for the project was GateCapital Properties, and architects from Hannum Associates of San Francisco did the design.

The project includes wetlands restoration and a 3.5-mile waterfront walking trail that will be dedicated to the city.

The complex sits at the western edge of the Richmond-San Rafael Bridge. The area has undergone renewal since filmmaker George Lucas exited the space for San Francisco after two decades at the site.

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