County acquires San Rafael building in $82 million deal [The Marin Independent Journal, Novato, Calif.]

Nov. 15--Marin County will spend $82 million to buy and remodel a San Rafael office building as an emergency operations and sheriff's headquarters.

The move was ratified Tuesday as officials abandoned plans to build a new structure near the Marin Civic Center, a controversial $102 million option supervisors studied at a cost of about $1 million before jettisoning it for a better deal.

Instead, the county will acquire a 315,000-square-foot building on 24 acres at 1600 Los Gamos Road, supervisors agreed, authorizing staff to sign final realty papers. Escrow is expected to close by the end of the year.

The mostly vacant building will cost the county $28.8 million, including a $389,000 brokerage commission. Remodeling and site renovations, fixtures and emergency operations equipment and high-tech communications gear will cost an additional $53 million. The money already has been tucked away in reserve funds and the project "is fully funded from available funds," according to County Administrator Matthew Hymel.

"I'd like to say, 'yay!'" exulted Alice Watkins of Santa Venetia, a member of the Civic Center Vision Committee. Mary Lou King, another committee member, echoed that sentiment, noting many in the community opposed building a new office building at the Civic Center.

The safety building, a source of political controversy for four years, is "now in the right place," Supervisor Susan Adam said. "I certainly appreciate this is where we are

today." Adams and other supervisors were early supporters of the Civic Center site despite neighborhood discord, but changed their minds as the facts about the Los Gamos Road alternative unfolded during a detailed review of the options.

Adams singled out county facilities chief David Speer for "incredibly hard work" in negotiating a good deal for taxpayers. Buying the existing building will be less expensive than erecting a new structure, allow faster completion of safety facilities and provide the county with new revenue from leasing out 83,000 square feet of space it does not need.

No environmental impact report is necessary because the county's use will be less intensive and generate less traffic than currently approved for the office building.

Speer said it makes financial sense to buy the entire building, rather than just a portion of it -- and is about $450 per square foot less expensive than building a new facility.

As Speer met with officials from Sares Regis of San Mateo, which represented property owner Cigna Insurance, the county paid consultants about $450,000 to study converting the building into new earthquake-safe quarters for emergency operations and the sheriff's department.

Existing tenants including Bright Horizons, the Internal Revenue Service and THX will provide lease revenue, as would space not used by the county after four off-Civic Center campus county offices are consolidated there, saving $1 million in annual rent.

"I've always felt this was a win-win. I'm delighted we're doing this," said Supervisor Judy Arnold.

The 455,000-square-foot Marin Commons complex at 1600 and 1650 Los Gamos Road in San Rafael reverted to its lender, Cigna, in a $62 million foreclosure in June 2009. The Commons includes two buildings, but the county is not interested in the 150,000-square-foot structure at 1650 Los Gamos.

Contact Nels Johnson via email at [email protected]

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