NORTH BAY BUSINESS JOURNAL EVENT

Impact Napa

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

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COMMERCIAL REAL ESTATE: The Silver Group expands to San Rafael Corporate Center

ALSO: TRADER JOE’S SIGNS LARKSPUR DEAL; HIRSCH MOVES TO BT

Commercial real estate brokerage The Silver Group, which focuses on net-leased single-tenant investments nationwide, has doubled the size of its offices with two new salespeople and a move from Larkspur to the San Rafael Corporate Center.

Institutional investment sales are crimped because of the credit crisis, but most of broker Barry Silver’s clients rarely leverage more than 65 percent of an acquisition. That’s a loan-to-value level lenders continue to feel comfortable financing, especially considering the buildings are under long-term leases usually to public companies, according to Mr. Silver. Most of the properties are valued at $1 million to $10 million, but some portfolio deals reach $30 million.

“While several subcategories of real estate are suffering, credit-backed real estate continues to provide stable cash flow,” Mr. Silver said. The firm has been around for 20 years first as Silver Willis, becoming The Silver Group in 2006.

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Monrovia-based Trader Joe’s has signed a lease for a 10,000-square-feet store at 2052 Redwood Highway in Larkspur, according to a company spokeswoman. The store is set to open sometime this year and will be the specialty grocer’s third store in Marin County.

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Christy Hirsch joined NAI BT Commercial as a sales associate to help further establish BT’s Terranomics retail division in Sonoma County from the Santa Rosa office.

Terranomics has five partners and associates working the Highway 101 corridor in Sonoma and Marin counties from BT’s San Rafael office. “NAI BT has a great commitment to research and has made great strides in the North Bay,” she said.

Previously, Ms. Hirsch was in Orion Partners’ Santa Rosa office. She was part of the Orion team that brokered University of Northern California’s recent lease of 35,000 square feet in southwest Santa Rosa.

At BT, Ms. Hirsch also will be brokering office, R&D flex and land deals.

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Submit items for this column to Jeff Quackenbush at 707-579-2900 ext. 206, jquackenbush@busjrnl.com or fax 707-579-8475.

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